relative to funding for the division of travel and tourism.
Summary
SB 63 would change how the state calculates the minimum funding level for the Division of Travel and Tourism and its Travel and Tourism Development Fund. Under current law, that budget must be funded at no less than 3.15% of certain meals and rooms tax revenue. This bill keeps the 3.15% benchmark but broadens the revenue base used in the calculation by adding back the transfer to the Municipal Revenue Fund when determining the amount available for tourism funding.
In practical terms, the bill would likely increase the amount of money directed to the division, because the fiscal note estimates the revised formula would raise the funding baseline from about $10.2 million to $14.3 million based on FY 2024 figures, an increase of roughly $4.1 million. The bill does not create new positions or directly appropriate money, but it would alter the statutory funding floor for the division within the Department of Business and Economic Affairs.
Impact
The bill amends RSA 12-O:11-b, which governs the Division of Travel and Tourism budget and its linkage to meals and rooms tax revenue. By changing the formula used to determine the minimum funding level, it would expand the statutory amount that must be allocated to tourism-related spending from the meals and rooms tax. The fiscal note indicates the change could produce an indeterminable increase in General Fund expenditures in a future budget cycle, likely not until the FY 2028-2029 operating budget, because the act would take effect 60 days after passage and would not immediately affect current-year appropriations.
Sentiment
The available materials suggest generally favorable or supportive treatment of the bill, at least in concept, because it is sponsored by a bipartisan group of senators and a representative and was referred to Ways and Means, where funding measures are typically reviewed. No committee transcript or recorded vote is provided, so there is no direct evidence of debate, but the bill’s purpose appears straightforward: to increase support for tourism promotion and development. The fiscal note frames the proposal as a funding formula change rather than a new spending program.
Contention
The main point of potential contention is fiscal: the bill would redirect a larger share of meals and rooms tax-derived resources to the Division of Travel and Tourism, which could reduce flexibility in the broader state budget and affect how much revenue is available for other uses, including the Municipal Revenue Fund. Supporters are likely to emphasize tourism promotion, economic development, and the value of increasing the division’s funding floor, while critics may focus on the higher cost to the General Fund and the reduced share available for municipal or other state priorities. Because no transcript or vote record is included, the specific arguments of individual legislators are not documented here.
Relative to relative to the penalty for false reports of suspected abuse and neglect made to the division for children, youth, and families, and relative to the maternal mortality review committee, electric vehicle charging stations and fees for annual testing by the division of weights and measures, and relative to the acceptance of portraits of Senator Sylvia Larsen and Senator Jeb Bradley for the state house.
Relative to the responsibility of local school districts to provide meals to students during school hours, reimbursing schools for meals provided to students at no cost, and making an appropriation therefor.