SB290 Alabama 2024 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

J.T. WaggonerSenator

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2024

Title

Tourism improvement districts, provides for establishment, renewal, dissolution, operation, and activities

Summary

SB290 would create Tourism Improvement Districts in Alabama, allowing counties and cities to form districts that fund tourism-related activities through business assessments.

What This Bill Does

The bill authorizes counties and municipalities to establish, renew, and dissolve tourism improvement districts and to create district plans. It requires a plan with district boundaries, eligible activities, funding sources, and how assessments will be calculated and used. Districts may levy assessments on businesses to pay for activities and improvements, managed by an association elected by business owners subject to assessment; debt may be incurred within specified limits. It also sets procedures for formation, amendments, reporting, renewal, dissolution, and asset disposition, while preserving existing self-help tourism districts under current law.

Who It Affects

• Owners of businesses located within a tourism improvement district; their businesses may be assessed to fund district activities and improvements, and they may elect the district's voting directors.
• Local governments (counties and municipalities) that authorize, establish, renew, or dissolve tourism improvement districts, and the associations that administer the district's plan and manage collected assessments.

Key Provisions

• Authorizes counties and municipalities to establish tourism improvement districts, including renewal and dissolution.
• Requires a district plan with boundaries, types of businesses included, proposed activities/improvements, funding sources, and the method/timing of assessments; districts may overlap boundaries with other districts but each business is taxed once.
• Defines key terms (Activity, Assessment, Association, Plan, District, etc.) and sets permissible assessment methods (percent of gross revenue, fixed amount per transaction, or other approved methods).
• Creates an association to administer the district; voting directors on the new association must be owners of assessed businesses; existing associations may form committees to manage funds.
• Outlines formation procedures with public hearings and notices; protests by a majority consortium can block adoption of the district.
• Requires annual and year-end reporting of assessments and expenditures; districts are supplemental funding and not a replacement for existing services.
• Allows districts to incur debt to fund improvements, with debt limits tied to projected 30-year assessment revenue; debt payments cannot be prematurely reduced if needed to retire the debt.
• Provides for renewal of districts, transfer of assets to renewed districts, and potential expansion of boundaries or changes to assessments in a renewal process.
• Details dissolution procedures, including conditions (no debt, potential misfeasance or legal violations), dissolution timelines, and asset disposition or refunds to owners.
• State law preserves municipalities' authority to create self-help business improvement districts for tourism under existing provisions.
• Effective date is October 1, 2024.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 22, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Counties & Municipalities