AN ACT Relating to establishing a tourism self-supported assessment program to fund statewide tourism promotion;
HB 2325 establishes a new statewide tourism self-supported assessment program to fund tourism promotion in Washington. The bill creates a framework under which qualifying tourism businesses would pay an annual assessment, calculated as a percentage of gross revenue, after the program is ratified by the affected business sectors through a referendum process. The measure also creates a ratepayer oversight board made up of industry representatives to help design the assessment structure, recommend sector classifications and rates, and oversee budgets, reporting, and program effectiveness.
The bill places the Washington Tourism Marketing Authority at the center of the program. The authority is directed to administer the assessment program, collect and distribute funds, and use the money solely for tourism promotion and related administrative and enforcement costs. It also requires the authority to contract for a multiyear statewide tourism marketing plan, with an emphasis on inclusive promotion across diverse communities, tribal nations, rural areas, and destinations that have historically been underrepresented in state marketing efforts. The bill includes detailed provisions on accounting, audits, enforcement for nonpayment, confidentiality of business financial information, and immunity from state liability for obligations of the authority and oversight board.
The bill amends Washington law to create a new chapter governing a tourism assessment program and revises existing statutes defining and governing the Washington Tourism Marketing Authority. It authorizes the authority to levy and collect assessments from participating tourism businesses, but only after sector ratification, and directs those revenues into a dedicated tourism assessment account outside the state treasury and not subject to legislative appropriation. The bill also creates a reimbursement account for state startup and administrative costs, establishes enforcement tools for unpaid assessments, and exempts certain tribal businesses and tribal lands unless they opt in.
In practical terms, the bill shifts tourism promotion funding from general state support toward an industry-financed model, while preserving state oversight through statutory reporting, audits, and rulemaking. It affects tourism-related businesses such as lodging, travel services, attractions, recreation, beverage producers, restaurants, and retail businesses meeting revenue thresholds, and it gives those businesses a formal role in governance through the oversight board and referendum process.
The overall sentiment in the legislative record appears generally favorable. The bill advanced with strong bipartisan support in both chambers, including unanimous or near-unanimous committee votes and large margins on final passage. That pattern suggests broad agreement that statewide tourism promotion is economically beneficial and that a self-supported assessment mechanism is a workable way to fund it. The bill’s findings and structure also reflect a policy preference for coordinated, long-term tourism marketing rather than fragmented promotion efforts.
The main points of contention appear to center on the funding mechanism and governance structure. Because the bill imposes an industry assessment based on gross revenue, affected businesses may be concerned about cost, fairness across sectors, and how rates are set. The referendum and weighted-vote ratification process indicates sensitivity to those concerns, as does the creation of an industry-led oversight board. Another likely area of concern is the scope of the program’s exemptions and opt-in rules for federally recognized tribes and tribal businesses, as well as the bill’s confidentiality provisions and the fact that program funds are kept outside the normal legislative appropriations process. The recorded votes show some opposition remained, but the bill still passed comfortably.