HB1011 passed the Government Operations and Technology Subcommittee by a vote of 8 to 5 on 2/4. An amendment was added as follows:
“For the 2020-2021 fiscal year, the sums of $1,306,368 in recurring and $116,749 in nonrecurring funds from the Hotels and Restaurants Trust Fund are appropriated to the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, and 19 full-time equivalent positions with associated salary rate of 792,021 is authorized, for the purpose of implementing the provisions related to this act.”
In other words, taxes paid by the highly regulated hotel industry will be used to remove all local regulation of vacation rentals. Hotels are subject to local zoning, vacation rentals are not. Hotels have strict fire codes, vacation rentals do not. Vacation rentals are objectionable to the hotel industry as unfair competition. The state has effectively driven B&Bs out of business because they are subject to local regulation. Now they’re targeting the hotel industry using their own tax revenue.