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8 <br /> attracting tourists or business travelers to the city/county. The term includes <br /> tourism-related capital expenditures. <br /> ➢ Beach Nourishment - The placement of sand, from other sand sources, on a <br /> beach or dune by mechanical means and other associated activities that are in <br /> conformity with the North Carolina Coastal Management Program along the <br /> North Carolina shorelines and connecting inlets for the purpose of widening the <br /> beach to benefit public recreational use and mitigating damage and erosion <br /> from storms to inland property. The term includes expenditures for the <br /> following: <br /> a. Costs directly associated with qualifying for projects either contracted <br /> through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers or otherwise permitted by all <br /> appropriate federal and State agencies; <br /> b. The nonfederal share of the cost required to construct these projects; <br /> C. The costs associated with providing enhanced public beach access; and <br /> d. The costs of associated nonhardening activities such as the planting of <br /> vegetation, the building of dunes, and the placement of sand fences. <br /> ♦ Administration - The net revenues must be administered by a local tourism <br /> promotion agency, typically referred to as a "Tourism Development Authority," that <br /> has the authority to determine how the tax proceeds will be used, is created by a <br /> local ordinance, and at least 1/2 of the members must be currently active in the <br /> promotion of travel and tourism in the taxing district and 1/3 of the members <br /> must be affiliated with organizations that collect the tax.3 <br /> ♦ Costs of Collection -The taxing authority may retain from the revenues its actual <br /> costs of collection, not to exceed 3% of the first $500,000 collected each year plus <br /> 1% of the remainder collected each year. <br /> ♦ Conformity with Other Local Occupancy Taxes - In 2008, the NCTTC formally <br /> revised its policy position with regard to occupancy taxes to include a statement <br /> that if a city seeks to impose a new occupancy tax or increase its existing tax on <br /> lodging facilities in a county that also has an existing occupancy tax, the county <br /> occupancy tax must conform to the guidelines in order for the Coalition to support <br /> the proposed municipal tax. During the 2009 Regular Session, the House Finance <br /> Chairs4 considered the revised policy statement of the NCTTC but declined to <br /> amend the House Finance Committee's Guidelines for Occupancy Tax accordingly. <br /> Research Division <br /> NC General Assembly <br /> Revised 913113 <br /> 2During the 2001 Regular Session, the Occupancy Tax Subcommittee of the House Finance Committee <br /> considered several bills authorizing the use occupancy tax proceeds for beach nourishment. Although <br /> "beach nourishment" was not among the uses contained in the uniform guidelines, the subcommittee <br /> nevertheless concluded that beach nourishment was an acceptable expansion of the occupancy tax use <br /> provisions. In doing so, the subcommittee drafted this uniform definition of beach nourishment for use in <br /> occupancy tax legislation. <br /> 3 In March 2005, the House Finance chairs decided to change the percentage of members that must be <br /> currently active in the promotion of travel and tourism from % to 1/2. The House Finance chairs in 2005- _ <br /> 06 were: Representatives Alexander, Gibson, Howard, Luebke, McComas, and Wainwright. <br /> 4 During the 2009-2010 Session, the House Finance chairs were: Representatives Luebke, Wainwright, <br /> Weiss, and Gibson. <br />