Bill: HB 2688, 84(R) - 2015

Committee

House Urban Affairs

Companion Bill

SB 837

Vote Recommendation

Vote Recommendation Economic Freedom Property Rights Personal Responsibility Limited Government Individual Liberty
No Negative Neutral Neutral Negative Neutral

Author(s)

Paul Workman

Co-Author(s)

Matt Krause
Lyle Larson

Bill Caption

Relating to a common characteristic or use project in a public improvement district in certain municipalities.

Fiscal Notes

No fiscal impact to the State is expected. It is assumed that a local governmental entity would undertake a project only if sufficient funds were available or it would not result in a negative fiscal impact; therefore, no significant fiscal impact is anticipated.  

Bill Analysis

HB 2688 seeks to expand the bracket on public improvement districts from Dallas to include Austin, Arlington, and San Antonio. These public improvement districts allow hotels within the specified municipalities to pool money in an attempt to increase tourism to the city.   

Vote Recommendation Notes

Currently only Dallas is authorized to use these public improvement districts. HB 2688 would expand the use of public improvement districts to Austin, Arlington, and San Antonio. The goal of these districts is to attract and increase tourism through the pooling of money, based on hotel occupancy, to improve the aesthetics of the city.

Private businesses seeking to increase tourism to benefit their profits are free to form their own voluntary associations to achieve this end. Any issues arising from businesses not wishing to participate or carry their fair share is a problem that the market can handle without municipal intervention. Therefore, creating public improvement districts is an unnecessary expansion of local government that would interfere with the free market. We do not support this legislation. 


Source URL (retrieved on 03/29/2024 04:03 AM): http://reports.texasaction.com/bill/84r/hb2688?print_view=true