A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to repeal the occupancy taxes for the town of wilkesboro and Wilkes County District K, to allow wilkes county to levy an occupancy tax of SIX PERCENT, and to create the wilkes county tourism development authority.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  Part IX of S.L. 2001‑439 is repealed.
SECTION 2.  Sections 8 and 9 of S.L. 2010‑78 are repealed.
SECTION 3.  Occupancy tax. – (a) Authorization and Scope. – The Wilkes County Board of Commissioners may levy a room occupancy tax of up to six percent (6%) of the gross receipts derived from the rental of an accommodation within the county that is subject to sales tax imposed by the State under G.S. 105‑164.4(a)(3). This tax is in addition to any State or local sales tax.
SECTION 3.(b)  Administration. – A tax levied under this section shall be levied, administered, collected, and repealed as provided in G.S. 153A‑155. The penalties provided in G.S. 153A‑155 apply to a tax levied under this section.
SECTION 3.(c)  Distribution and Use of Tax Revenue. – Wilkes County shall, on a quarterly basis, remit the net proceeds of the occupancy tax to the Wilkes County Tourism Development Authority. The Authority shall use at least two‑thirds of the funds to promote travel and tourism and shall use the remainder for tourism‑related expenditures in the county.
The following definitions apply in this subsection:
(1)	Net proceeds. – Gross proceeds less the cost to the county of administering and collecting the tax, as determined by the finance officer, not to exceed three percent (3%) of the first five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) of gross proceeds collected each year and one percent (1%) of the remaining gross receipts collected each year.
(2)	Promote travel and tourism. – To advertise or market an area or activity, publish and distribute pamphlets and other materials, conduct market research, or engage in similar promotional activities that attract tourists or business travelers to the area. The term includes administrative expenses incurred in engaging in the listed activities.
(3)	Tourism‑related expenditures. – Expenditures that, in the judgment of the Tourism Development Authority, are designed to increase the use of accommodations, meeting facilities, or convention facilities in the county or to attract tourists or business travelers to the county. The term includes tourism‑related capital expenditures.
SECTION 4.  Tourism Development Authority. – (a) Appointment and Membership. – When the Wilkes County Board of Commissioners adopts a resolution levying a room occupancy tax under this act, it shall also adopt a resolution creating a county Tourism Development Authority, which shall be a public authority under the Local Government Budget and Fiscal Control Act. The resolution shall provide for the membership of the Authority, including the members' terms of office, and for the filling of vacancies on the Authority. The county Tourism Development Authority shall consist of the following members:
(1)	Two members appointed by the Wilkes County Board of Commissioners, one of whom must be an individual affiliated with a business that collects taxes in the county and another who must be an individual currently active in the promotion of travel and tourism in the county.
(2)	Two members appointed by the Wilkesboro Town Council, one of whom must be an individual affiliated with a business that collects taxes in Wilkesboro and another who must be an individual currently active in the promotion of travel and tourism in Wilkesboro.
(3)	One member appointed by the North Wilkesboro Board of Commissioners who is (i) an individual affiliated with a business that collects taxes in North Wilkesboro or (ii) an individual currently active in the promotion of travel and tourism in North Wilkesboro.
(4)	One member appointed by the Ronda Board of Commissioners who is (i) an individual affiliated with a business that collects taxes in Ronda or (ii) an individual currently active in the promotion of travel and tourism in Ronda.
The county Tourism Development Authority may, by majority vote, appoint two additional members to the Authority as follows:
(5)	At least one of any additional members appointed to the Authority under this section must be an individual affiliated with a business that collects taxes in Wilkes County or a municipality within Wilkes County.
(6)	Any additional member appointed to the Authority must be (i) an individual affiliated with a business that collects taxes in Wilkes County or a municipality within Wilkes County or (ii) an individual currently active in the promotion of travel and tourism in Wilkes County or a municipality within Wilkes County.
The Wilkes County Board of Commissioners shall designate one member of the Authority as chair and shall determine the compensation, if any, to be paid to members of the Authority. The Authority shall meet at the call of the chair and shall adopt rules of procedure to govern its meetings. The Finance Officer for Wilkes County shall be the ex officio finance officer of the Authority.
SECTION 4.(b)  Duties. – The Authority shall expend the net proceeds of the tax levied under this act for promoting travel and tourism and for tourism‑related expenditures as provided in this act.
SECTION 4.(c)  Reports. – The Authority shall report quarterly and at the close of the fiscal year to the Wilkes County Board of Commissioners on its receipts and expenditures for the preceding quarter and for the year in such detail as the Board may require.
SECTION 5.  G.S. 153A‑155(g) reads as rewritten:
"(g)	Applicability. – Subsection (c) of this section applies to all counties and county districts that levy an occupancy tax. To the extent subsection (c) conflicts with any provision of a local act, subsection (c) supersedes that provision. The remainder of this section applies only to Alleghany, Anson, Brunswick, Buncombe, Burke, Cabarrus, Camden, Carteret, Caswell, Chatham, Cherokee, Chowan, Clay, Craven, Cumberland, Currituck, Dare, Davie, Duplin, Durham, Edgecombe, Forsyth, Franklin, Graham, Granville, Halifax, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Madison, Martin, McDowell, Mitchell, Montgomery, Moore, Nash, New Hanover, Northampton, Pasquotank, Pender, Perquimans, Person, Randolph, Richmond, Rockingham, Rowan, Rutherford, Sampson, Scotland, Stanly, Swain, Transylvania, Tyrrell, Vance, Washington, Wayne, and Wilson Counties, to Harnett County District H, New Hanover County District U, Surry County District S, Watauga County District U, Wilkes County, Yadkin County District Y, and the Township of Averasboro in Harnett County and the Ocracoke Township Taxing District."
SECTION 6.  G.S. 160A‑215(g) reads as rewritten:
"(g)	Applicability. – Subsection (c) of this section applies to all cities that levy an occupancy tax. To the extent subsection (c) conflicts with any provision of a local act, subsection (c) supersedes that provision. The remainder of this section applies only to Beech Mountain District W, to the Cities of Belmont, Conover, Eden, Elizabeth City, Gastonia, Goldsboro, Greensboro, Hickory, High Point, Jacksonville, Kings Mountain, Lake Santeetlah, Lenoir, Lexington, Lincolnton, Lowell, Lumberton, Monroe, Mount Airy, Mount Holly, Reidsville, Roanoke Rapids, Salisbury, Sanford, Shelby, Statesville, Washington, and Wilmington, to the Towns of Ahoskie, Beech Mountain, Benson, Bermuda Run, Blowing Rock, Boiling Springs, Boone, Burgaw, Carolina Beach, Carrboro, Cooleemee, Cramerton, Dallas, Dobson, Elkin, Fontana Dam, Franklin, Grover, Hillsborough, Jonesville, Kenly, Kure Beach, Leland, McAdenville, Mocksville, Mooresville, Murfreesboro, North Topsail Beach, Pembroke, Pilot Mountain, Ranlo, Robbinsville, Selma, Smithfield, St. Pauls, Swansboro, Troutman, Tryon, West Jefferson, Wrightsville Beach, Yadkinville, Yanceyville, to the municipalities in Avery and Brunswick Counties, and to Saluda District D."
SECTION 7.  The governing body of Wilkes County District K, the Wilkes County Board of Commissioners, the Wilkesboro Town Council, the North Wilkesboro Board of Commissioners, and the Ronda Board of Commissioners shall adopt any resolutions or modify any adopted resolutions, as needed, to carry out the provisions of this act.
SECTION 8.  This act does not affect the rights or liabilities of the State, a taxpayer, or another person arising under a statute amended by this act before the effective date of its amendment, nor does it affect the right to any refund or credit of a tax that accrued under the amended statute before the effective date of its amendment.
SECTION 9.  Section 1 of this act becomes effective July 1, 2023. The remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law.