Senate Bill S809

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S809

 TITLE OF BILL :  An act to amend chapter 161 of the laws of 1970,
relating to a hotel room occupancy tax in cities having a population
of one million or more, in relation to exempting the county of
Richmond from imposing such tax


 PURPOSE :

Provides that the hotel room occupancy tax cannot be imposed in the
county of Richmond.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 1 of chapter 161 of the laws of
1970, relating to hotel room occupancy tax in cities having a
population of one million or more, is amended by chapter 253 of the
laws of 1980, to state that notwithstanding any other provision of law
to the contrary, except in the county of Richmond, any city having a
population of one million or more is hereby authorized and empowered
to adopt and amend local laws imposing in any such city a tax in
addition to any tax authorized and imposed pursuant to article
twenty-nine of the tax law such as the legislature has or would have
the power and authority to impose on persons occupying hotel rooms in
such city.
              

Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

 JUSTIFICATION :
Richmond County (Staten Island), which has a population of over
450,000 people, struggles to compete with neighboring New Jersey as
well as the other boroughs in New York City with regards to attracting
tourists and business people to occupy hotel rooms. New Jersey's Hotel
Occupancy Fee for Newark and Jersey City, NJ is just 1%. New York
City's Hotel Occupancy Rate is five times that, at 5%.

This bill would help level the playing field with hotels located in
New Jersey. It would lure tourists and business people to Staten
Island, who are forced to stay in New Jersey because of lower hotel
rates. This bill would not only create more business for Staten Island
hotels, but it would bring more business to Staten Island's
restaurants, tourism, and retail industries. Staten Island's proximity
to Manhattan and Brooklyn make it an ideal place for travelers to stay
at a lower cost than the rest of the City.

This bill would create a competitive environment for the hotel
industry on Staten Island that compete with New Jersey operators.
Currently, hotel's face a competitive disadvantage because they pay an
occupancy tax this is roughly five times more than New Jersey's.
Tourists are not staying in Staten Island by choice but because of
economic reasons. The state must remain committed to fostering a
friendly business environment for those located in New York.
Furthermore, revenue implications of this bill will be minimal due to
the few hotel rooms that occupy Staten Island, in comparison with
Manhattan or Brooklyn.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :
2008:  S.7189 - Referred to Local Government

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :
Unknown.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect immediately.