BILL NUMBER: AB 1356 CHAPTERED 08/25/04 CHAPTER 296 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE AUGUST 25, 2004 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR AUGUST 24, 2004 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 12, 2004 PASSED THE SENATE JULY 1, 2004 AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 28, 2004 AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 8, 2004 AMENDED IN SENATE FEBRUARY 26, 2004 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 6, 2004 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Cohn FEBRUARY 21, 2003 An act to add Chapter 1.5 (commencing with Section 13995.150) to Part 4.7 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, relating to tourism, making an appropriation therefor, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 1356, Cohn. Tourism: Office of Tourism. The California Tourism Marketing Act established the Office of Tourism within the Technology, Trade, and Commerce Agency and required the office to designate a statewide network of California Welcome Centers. The act was repealed and reenacted effective January 1, 2004, to establish the office in the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency. This bill would require the Office of Tourism, as established in the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency, to designate that statewide network. This bill would authorize the office to collect fees from any entity operating a California Welcome Center to cover the costs of the state in implementing these provisions, to be deposited in the Welcome Center Fund, which would be established by the bill, to be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the office for these purposes. The bill would appropriate $55,000 from the Welcome Center Fund to the office for the purposes of the bill for the 2004-05 fiscal year, with any unencumbered balance as of June 30, 2005, to revert to the fund. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute. Appropriation: yes. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Chapter 1.5 (commencing with Section 13995.150) is added to Part 4.7 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, to read: CHAPTER 1.5. CALIFORNIA WELCOME CENTERS 13995.150. The Legislature finds and declares that a statewide network of visitor information centers, to be known as California Welcome Centers, that are readily accessible to and recognizable by tourists, would encourage tourism in California and provide benefits to the state economy. 13995.151. For the purpose of establishing and enhancing a statewide network of California Welcome Centers, the Office of Tourism shall perform the following functions and activities: (a) Designate a statewide network of California Welcome Centers to be operated by one or more entities that include, but are not limited to, convention centers and visitor bureaus, chambers of commerce, local governments, state government, federal government, or private entities. The Office of Tourism may designate California Welcome Centers through the solicitation of offers to negotiate or proposals from interested entities. Only an entity that applies for designation as a California Welcome Center may be so designated by the Office of Tourism. Criteria for designation shall include, but not be limited to, accessibility, proximity to tourist attractions, size, appearance, and maintenance. The Office of Tourism may limit the number of designated California Welcome Centers within any geographic area of the state if necessary to prevent an excessive density of centers. (b) Establish requirements for the operation of a designated California Welcome Center. These requirements shall be included in the written agreement with the operating entity and shall require, at a minimum, that the entity operate at hours convenient to visitors and display visitor information produced by government entities at no cost to those entities. The requirements may vary according to local conditions and needs. An agreement between the state and the operating entity pursuant to this section shall not be construed as an agreement for the provision of services to the state, or by the state. Nothing in this subdivision shall preclude a California Welcome Center from displaying visitor information produced by a tourism-related trade association or any other appropriate entity. (c) Designate a logo for California Welcome Centers. The words "California Welcome Center" and the name of the location of the center, as designated by the Office of Tourism, shall be displayed prominently on the exterior of any California Welcome Center. (d) Consult with the Department of Transportation in the design and placement of California Welcome Center highway signs to ensure that the design and placement of the highway signs are reasonably consistent with state and federal standards. (e) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (3), prior to the costs being incurred, collect fees from any entity operating a California Welcome Center in an amount sufficient to cover the costs incurred by the state in administering this section. However, the Department of Transportation may charge centers directly for its initial and ongoing costs and fees related to highway sign production, construction, maintenance, and permitting, pursuant to Section 13995.152. (2) Fees collected by the Office of Tourism pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be deposited in the Welcome Center Fund, which is hereby established in the State Treasury, to be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the office to cover its costs in implementing this chapter. (3) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the office may, for the first 90 days after the effective date of this chapter, incur costs in administering its provisions prior to the collection of fees as described in paragraph (1). These costs shall be reimbursed by the appropriation of funds from the Welcome Center Fund. 13995.152. The Department of Transportation shall, to the maximum extent feasible, install and maintain California Welcome Center highway signs when requested by the Office of Tourism. 13995.153. Costs associated with the ongoing maintenance and operation of centers shall be borne by the entity operating a California Welcome Center. 13995.154. Every entity of state government shall cooperate with the Office of Tourism to further the provisions of this chapter. 13995.155. If the Office of Tourism drafts regulations to implement this chapter, the office shall submit the regulations to the California Tourism Commission for the commission's review prior to the adoption of the regulations. SEC. 2. (a) The sum of fifty-five thousand dollars ($55,000) is hereby appropriated from the Welcome Center Fund to the Office of Tourism for the 2004-05 fiscal year, for the purposes of Section 13995.151 of the Government Code, including paragraph (3) of subdivision (e) of that section, as added by Section 1 of this act. (b) Any unencumbered funds remaining from this appropriation as of June 30, 2005, shall revert to the Welcome Center Fund as of that date. SEC. 3. This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are: In order that the work of the Office of Tourism with respect to the designation of California Welcome Centers may continue at the earliest possible time, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.