BILL NUMBER: SB 1119 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 19, 2014
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 2, 2014
INTRODUCED BY Senator Leno
FEBRUARY 19, 2014
An act to amend Section Sections 13995.40
and 13995.92 of , and to add Section 13995.93
to, the Government Code, relating to tourism.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1119, as amended, Leno. California Travel and Tourism
Commission.
The California Tourism Marketing Act authorizes the establishment
of the California Travel and Tourism Commission, a nonprofit mutual
benefit corporation, for the purpose of promoting tourism in
California, as specified. The act requires all meetings of the
commission to be held in California. The act provides for an
assessment for the passenger rental car industry to be adopted by
referendum on a proposed rate set by the commission that will
generate funding that, when aggregated with other funding for the
commission, is sufficient to fund approved marketing plan costs of no
less than $50,000,000 per fiscal year.
This bill would instead require a California
location to be available for all commission meetings. This bill
would require that the proposed assessment be set by the
commission at a rate of no more than 3.5% that will
generate no more than 70% of the total funding, that when so
aggregated, will be sufficient to fund the approved marketing plan
and all administrative costs of no more than $70,000,000 per fiscal
year. 60% of all expenditures set by the commission, as
provided, and that the approved marketing plan of the commission be
no less than $50,000,000 per fiscal year.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 13995.40 of the
Government Code is amended to read:
13995.40. (a) Upon approval of the initial referendum, the office
shall establish a nonprofit mutual benefit corporation named the
California Travel and Tourism Commission. The commission shall be
under the direction of a board of commissioners, which shall function
as the board of directors for purposes of the Nonprofit Corporation
Law.
(b) The board of commissioners shall consist of 37 commissioners
comprising the following:
(1) The director, who shall serve as chairperson.
(2) (A) Twelve members, who are professionally active in the
tourism industry, and whose primary business, trade, or profession is
directly related to the tourism industry, shall be appointed by the
Governor. Each appointed commissioner shall represent only one of the
12 tourism regions designated by the office, and the appointed
commissioners shall be selected so as to represent, to the greatest
extent possible, the diverse elements of the tourism industry.
Appointed commissioners are not limited to individuals who are
employed by or represent assessed businesses.
(B) If an appointed commissioner ceases to be professionally
active in the tourism industry or his or her primary business, trade,
or profession ceases to be directly related to the tourism industry,
he or she shall automatically cease to be an appointed commissioner
90 days following the date on which he or she ceases to meet both of
the eligibility criteria specified in subparagraph (A), unless the
commissioner becomes eligible again within that 90-day period.
(3) Twenty-four elected commissioners, including at least one
representative of a travel agency or tour operator that is an
assessed business.
(c) The commission established pursuant to Section 15364.52 shall
be inoperative so long as the commission established pursuant to this
section is in existence.
(d) Elected commissioners shall be elected by industry category in
a referendum. Regardless of the number of ballots received for a
referendum, the nominee for each commissioner slot with the most
weighted votes from assessed businesses within that industry category
shall be elected commissioner. In the event that an elected
commissioner resigns, dies, or is removed from office during his or
her term, the commission shall appoint a replacement from the same
industry category that the commissioner in question represented, and
that commissioner shall fill the remaining term of the commissioner
in question. The number of commissioners elected from each industry
category shall be determined by the weighted percentage of
assessments from that category.
(e) The director may remove any elected commissioner following a
hearing at which the commissioner is found guilty of abuse of office
or moral turpitude.
(f) (1) The term of each elected commissioner shall commence July
1 of the year next following his or her election, and shall expire on
June 30 of the fourth year following his or her election. If an
elected commissioner ceases to be employed by or with an assessed
business in the category and segment which he or she was
representing, his or her term as an elected commissioner shall
automatically terminate 90 days following the date on which he or she
ceases to be so employed, unless, within that 90-day period, the
commissioner again is employed by or with an assessed business in the
same category and segment.
(2) Terms of elected commissioners that would otherwise expire
effective December 31 of the year during which legislation adding
this subdivision is enacted shall automatically be extended until
June 30 of the following year.
(g) With the exception of the director, no commissioner shall
serve for more than two consecutive terms. For purposes of this
subdivision, the phrase "two consecutive terms" shall not include
partial terms.
(h) Except for the original commissioners, all commissioners shall
serve four-year terms. One-half of the commissioners originally
appointed or elected shall serve a two-year term, while the remainder
shall serve a four-year term. Every two years thereafter, one-half
of the commissioners shall be appointed or elected by referendum.
(i) The selection committee shall determine the initial slate of
candidates for elected commissioners. Thereafter the commissioners,
by adopted resolution, shall nominate a slate of candidates, and
shall include any additional candidates complying with the procedure
described in Section 13995.62.
(j) The commissioners shall elect a vice chairperson from the
elected commissioners.
(k) The commission may lease space from the office.
(l) The commission and the office shall be the official state
representatives of California tourism.
(m) All commission meetings shall be held in California.
(m) A California location shall be available for all commission
meetings.
(n) No person shall receive compensation for serving as a
commissioner, but each commissioner shall receive reimbursement for
reasonable expenses incurred while on authorized commission business.
(o) Assessed businesses shall vote only for commissioners
representing their industry category.
(p) Commissioners shall comply with the requirements of the
Political Reform Act of 1974 (Title 9 (commencing with Section
81000)). The Legislature finds and declares that commissioners
appointed or elected on the basis of membership in a particular
tourism segment are appointed or elected to represent and serve the
economic interests of those tourism segments and that the economic
interests of these members are the same as those of the public
generally.
(q) Commission meetings shall be subject to the requirements of
the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act (Article 9 (commencing with Section
11120) of Chapter 1 of Part 1).
(r) The executive director of the commission shall serve as
secretary to the commission, a nonvoting position, and shall keep the
minutes and records of all commission meetings.
SECTION 1. SEC. 2. Section 13995.92
of the Government Code is amended to read:
13995.92. The proposed assessment for the
passenger rental car industry rate shall be set by the
commission, shall be no more than 3.5 percent, and shall be set
at a level determined by the commission that will
generate no more than 70 60 percent of
the total funding that will be sufficient, when aggregated
together with other funding for the commission to fund the approved
marketing plan and all administrative costs of no more than seventy
million dollars ($70,000,000) per fiscal year. all
expenditures by the commission as set forth in Section 13995.45.
SEC. 3. Section 13995.93 is added to the
Government Code , to read:
13995.93. The approved marketing plan of the commission shall be
no less than fifty million dollars ($50,000,000) per fiscal year.