House Bill 1087

(As Passed the House)

AN ACT TO AUTHORIZE THE GOVERNING AUTHORITIES OF THE CITY OF HORN LAKE, MISSISSIPPI, TO LEVY A TWO-DOLLAR TAX UPON EACH OVERNIGHT HOTEL AND MOTEL ROOM RENTAL IN THE CITY; TO REQUIRE A REFERENDUM ON THE QUESTION OF IMPOSING SUCH A TAX; TO REQUIRE A REFERENDUM ON WHETHER THE TAX MAY BE LEVIED; TO PROVIDE THAT THE TAX SHALL BE COLLECTED BY THE STATE TAX COMMISSION AND PAID TO THE CITY OF HORN LAKE; TO PROVIDE THAT THE PROCEEDS FROM THE TAX SHALL BE USED FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROMOTING THE ATTRIBUTES OF THE CITY; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. As used in this act, the following terms shall have meanings ascribed in this section unless otherwise clearly indicated by the context in which they are used:

(a) "Governing authorities" means the governing authorities of the City of Horn Lake, Mississippi.

(b) "Hotel" or "motel" means any establishment engaged in the business of furnishing or providing rooms intended or designed for dwelling, lodging or sleeping purposes to transient guests and which are known in the trade as such. The term "hotel" or "motel" does not include any hospital, convalescent or nursing home or sanitarium, or any hotel-like facility operated by or in connection with a hospital or medical clinic providing rooms exclusively for patients and their families.

SECTION 2. (1) For the purpose of providing funds to promote the attributes of the City of Horn Lake, Mississippi, and to promote the city's tourism and economic development, the governing authorities of the City of Horn Lake, in their discretion, are authorized to levy and collect from every person, firm or corporation operating a hotel or motel in the city a tax, which shall be in addition to all other taxes and assessments imposed and which shall not exceed Two Dollars ($2.00) per room rental upon each overnight room rental in all such hotels or motels in the city, excluding charges for food, telephone, laundry, beverages and similar charges. The tax shall not be levied upon or collected on room rentals for day meetings where the room does not serve as overnight sleeping accommodations.

(2) Persons, firms or corporations liable for the tax imposed under subsection (1) of this section shall add the amount of the tax to the sales price and shall collect, insofar as is practicable, the amount of the tax due by him from the person receiving the services or product at the time of payment therefor.

(3) Such tax shall be collected by and paid to the State Tax Commission on a form prescribed by the State Tax Commission in the same manner that state sales taxes are computed, collected and paid; and the full enforcement provisions and all other provisions of Chapter 65, Title 27, Mississippi Code of 1972, shall apply as necessary to the implementation and administration of this act.

(4) The proceeds of such tax, less three percent (3%) thereof which shall be retained by the State Tax Commission to defray the costs of collection, shall be paid to the governing authorities on or before the fifteenth day of the month following the month in which collected.

(5) The proceeds of such tax shall not be considered by the City of Horn Lake as general fund revenues but shall be dedicated to and expended solely for the purposes specified in this section.

SECTION 3. Before any tax authorized under this act may be imposed, the governing authorities of the City of Horn Lake shall adopt a resolution declaring its intention to levy the taxes, setting forth the amount of the tax to be imposed, the date upon which the tax shall become effective and calling for a referendum to be held on the question. The date of the referendum shall be set in the resolution. Notice of the intention shall be published once each week for at least three (3) consecutive weeks in a newspaper published or having a general circulation in the county, with the first publication of such notice to be made not less than twenty-one (21) days before the date fixed in the resolution for the referendum and the last publication to be made not more than seven (7) days before the referendum. At the referendum, all qualified electors of the City of Horn Lake may vote, and the ballots used in such referendum shall have printed thereon a brief statement of the amount and purposes of the proposed tax levy and the words "FOR THE TAX" and, on a separate line, "AGAINST THE TAX", and the voters shall vote by placing a cross (X) or check (√) opposite their choice on the proposition. When the results of the referendum shall have been canvassed by the election commission and certified, the city may levy the taxes beginning on the first day of the second month following the referendum, only if at least a majority of the qualified electors who vote in the election vote in favor of the tax. In the event that a majority of the qualified electors who vote at the referendum vote for the tax, the governing authorities shall furnish to the State Tax Commission a certified copy of the resolution evidencing the tax, no less than thirty (30) days before the effective date of the tax.

SECTION 4. Accounting for receipts and expenditures of the funds described in this act shall be made separately from the accounting of receipts and expenditures of the general fund and any other funds of the City of Horn Lake. The records reflecting the receipts and expenditures of the funds prescribed in this act shall be audited annually by an independent certified public accountant, and the accountant shall make a written report of his audit to the governing authorities. The audit shall be made and completed as soon as practicable after the close of the fiscal year, and expenses of such audit shall be paid from the funds derived pursuant to this act.

SECTION 5. The provisions of this act shall be repealed from and after June 1, 2007.

SECTION 6. The governing authorities of the City of Horn Lake, Mississippi, shall submit this act, immediately upon approval by the Governor, or upon approval by the Legislature subsequent to a veto, to the Attorney General of the United States or to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in accordance with the provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended and extended.

SECTION 7. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after the date it is effectuated under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended and extended.