Senate Bill S4152

                                BILL NUMBER:S4152

TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend chapter 161 of the laws of 1970,
enabling any city having a population of one million or more to impose
and collect taxes on occupancy of hotel rooms in such city, in
relation to exempting the county of Richmond from the imposition of
such taxes

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:  2012: A.5777 Held for consideration in ways and
means 2011: A.5777 Referred to ways and means 2010: S.0809 - Referred
to Local Government/S.3526 Held for consideration in Ways and Means
2009:  S.0809 - Local Government discharged and committed to rules/
A.3526 referred to Ways and Means

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:  Unknown.

EFFECTIVE DATE:  This act shall take effect immediately.