Revision: Jan. 6, 2020, 11:16 a.m.
HB 1652-FN-A - AS INTRODUCED
2020 SESSION
20-2578
10/05
HOUSE BILL 1652-FN-A
SPONSORS: Rep. Thompson, Ches. 14; Rep. St. John, Hills. 27; Rep. Schapiro, Ches. 16; Rep. Oxenham, Sull. 1; Rep. Gomarlo, Ches. 12
COMMITTEE: Ways and Means
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ANALYSIS
This bill adds sales of ski area lift tickets to the meals and rooms tax and directs that the revenues collected are used for education programs for state prisoners or deposited in the governor's scholarship fund for the awarding of working families scholarships to New Hampshire resident students whose estimated family contribution is between $6,000 and $20,000. The bill also allows the liquor commission to contract with ski areas for sales at state liquor stores.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
20-2578
10/05
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Meals and Rooms Tax; Definition; Operator. Amend RSA 78-A:3, XIII to read as follows:
XIII. "Operator" means any person operating a hotel, charging for a taxable meal, [or] receiving gross rental receipts, or selling ski area lift tickets, whether as owner or proprietor or lessee, or otherwise.
2 New Paragraph; Meals and Rooms Tax; Definition; Ski Area Lift Ticket. Amend RSA 78-A:3 by inserting after paragraph XXIII the following new paragraph:
XXIII-a. "Ski area lift ticket" means providing for the entrance to and use of ski area transport up a hill for the purpose of recreational skiing or other winter sport activity. This term shall mean the sale and use of a ski area lift ticket valid for up to 3 days to a person over 18 years of age and shall not include season passes.
3 Operator Licenses; Ski Areas. Amend RSA 78-A:4 to read as follows:
78-A:4 Meals and Rentals Licenses Required; Penalty.
I. Each operator shall register with the department the name and address of each place of business within the state where it operates a hotel, sells taxable meals, [or] rents motor vehicles, or sells ski area lift tickets. The operator shall complete a registration, upon receipt of which the department shall issue a meals and rentals license for each place in such form as it determines, attesting that the registration has been made, provided that a license shall not be issued or renewed if the operator owes unpaid taxes, interest, or penalties from any tax administered by the department. A license may be denied if the commissioner has reason to believe that the registration is filed by a person as a subterfuge for the real person in interest whose license has been previously been revoked, suspended, or not renewed for cause. Licenses shall expire on June 30 in each odd-numbered year, unless the business ceases operation, a change in ownership occurs, or the license is revoked or suspended by the department prior to expiration of the license.
I-a. The license shall be conspicuously posted in a public area upon the premises to which it relates. Violation of the posting requirement in this paragraph may result in a warning from the department that the operator's license may be revoked, suspended, or denied. The warning shall include notification to the operator of his or her obligation to obtain a meals and rooms license and pay the meals and rooms tax under this chapter. Subsequent violations of the provisions of this section may constitute sufficient cause for revocation, suspension, or denial of license.
II. [Repealed.]
III. No person shall engage in serving taxable meals, renting rooms, [or] renting motor vehicles, or selling ski area lift tickets without first obtaining the license required by this section. The license is nonassignable and cannot be transferred. Any person who fails to register or obtain a license as provided in this section shall be subject to the penalty provisions of RSA 21-J:39.
IV. Licenses, operator information displayed on licenses, and license dispositions, such as issuance, renewal, suspension, and revocation, shall be public records.
4 New Paragraph; Imposition of Tax; Ski Area Lift Tickets. Amend RSA 78-A:6 by inserting after paragraph II-a the following new paragraph:
II-b. A tax of 9 percent is imposed upon the sale of ski area lift tickets.
5 Collection of Tax. Amend the introductory paragraph of RSA RSA 78-A:7, I(a) to read as follows:
I.(a) The operator shall either state the amount of the tax to each occupant, purchaser of a meal, [or] renter, or purchaser of a ski area lift ticket, or state that the tax is included in the price of the occupancy, meal, [or] gross rental receipts received, or ski area lift ticket. If the amount of the tax is not separately stated, the purchaser's or occupant's contract or receipt shall include the following language:
6 Reference Deleted; Exception to Tax. Amend the introductory paragraph of RSA 78-A:6-b, II to read as follows:
II. The portion of a single aggregate charge allocated to items which are not customarily associated with the purchase of a taxable room or taxable meal, including but not limited to [ski lift tickets,] boat ride fees, amusement park admission tickets, theater tickets, or other similarly packaged items shall not be taxable if:
7 Meals and Rooms Tax; Disposition of Revenues. Amend RSA 78-A:26, I(d) to read as follows:
(d) An amount equal to the estimate of revenue collected from the tax on ski area lift tickets under RSA 78-A:6, II-b shall be disbursed as follows:
(1) The sum of $500,000 or 10 percent of the annual amount collected, whichever is greater, shall be appropriated to the department of corrections for the funding of college and vocational courses for inmates in the state prison system. The governor is authorized to draw a warrant for said sum out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated.
(2) All other sums collected shall be deposited in the governor's scholarship fund established in RSA 4-C:34; and
(e) The remainder to the general fund.
8 New Paragraph; Governor's Scholarship Program; Working Families Scholarship Program Added. Amend RSA 4-C:33 by inserting after paragraph III the following new paragraph:
IV. In addition to the applicable provisions and criteria under this chapter, there shall be a working families scholarship program utilizing funds received by the office for the governor's scholarship program pursuant to RSA 78-A:26, I(d) which shall be awarded to eligible resident students whose estimated family contribution (EFC) is within a range for working families as determined by the office. For scholarships awarded in 2021, the eligibility range for EFC shall be between $6,000 and $20,000. For subsequent years the office shall adjust the range to reflect changes to contributions by working families.
9 New Section; Liquor Commission; Authority to Contract. Amend RSA 176 by inserting after section 12 the following new section:
176:12-a Authority to Contract; Ski Area Lift Tickets. The commission may enter into contracts for the sales at state liquor stores of ski area lift tickets for ski areas located in New Hampshire.
10 Effective Date. This act shall take effect July 1, 2020.
20-2578
Revised 12/23/19
HB 1652-FN-A- FISCAL NOTE
AS INTRODUCED
FISCAL IMPACT: [ X ] State [ ] County [ ] Local [ ] None
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| Estimated Increase / (Decrease) | |||
STATE: | FY 2020 | FY 2021 | FY 2022 | FY 2023 |
Appropriation | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Revenue | $0 | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase |
Expenditures | $0 | Indeterminable | Indeterminable | Indeterminable |
Funding Source: | [ X ] General [ ] Education [ ] Highway [ X ] Other - Liquor Funds, Governor's Scholarship Fund | |||
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METHODOLOGY:
This bill includes the sale of ski area tickets in the Meals and Rooms Tax and appropriates $500,000 or 10% of the annual amount collected, whichever is greater, from the tax on ski area tickets to the Department of Corrections for funding college and vocational courses for inmates of the state prison system with all remaining sums deposited in the Governor's Scholarship Fund established in RSA 4-C:34 for the purpose of the working families scholarship program. The bill also allows the Liquor Commission to contract with ski areas to sell tickets at state liquor stores.
The Department of Revenue Administration states this bill will increase state General Fund revenue by an indeterminable amount with the increased revenue being dedicated to the Department of Corrections and the Governor's Scholarship Fund for the purposes contained in the bill. The Department has no information to estimate the total sales of ski area lift tickets, therefore the Department is not able to calculate the estimated revenue to the Department of Corrections and Governor's Scholarship Fund.
The Department of Corrections states the increased revenue will allow for increased expenditure on courses in the facility along with increased availability for inmates to take correspondence courses. The Department assumes any revenue will be deposited into a revolving fund, though the bill does not create such a fund.
The Liquor Commission states it would need to draft contracts with ski areas to sell lift tickets in the liquor stores, would need to register as an operator with the Department of Revenue Administration at its stores, and would need to develop internal controls to inventory, sell and report the sales of ski lift tickets. The Commission expressed several concerns including the need for clarification on how these tickets would be marketed in the stores; if the Commission has the authority to charge a fee for selling the tickets in its store, similar as it does with the sale of Lottery tickets; if the tickets would be printed in the stores; and if the Commission's point of sale system would need to interface with any or all the area ski area systems. The Commission is not able to determine the impact on its expenditures of incorporating of ski lift ticket sales in its stores.
The bill also amends the Governor's Scholarship Fund to allow for the working families scholarship program that is to be funded by the tax on the ski lift tickets. The program will award scholarships to eligible resident students whose estimated family contribution is within the range for working families as determined by the office. It is not known how much revenue will be deposited into the fund for purposes of this bill to know how much in scholarship aid will be available to those that are eligible.
The Department of Natural and Cultural Resources states this bill directs the 9% Meals and Rooms Tax on ski area lift tickets to the General Fund and Governor's Scholarship Fund. The Department estimates, using FY 2019 Cannon Mountain ski area lift ticket revenues, the tax will generate $405,000 of new revenue. The Department is not able to determine the exact revenue that will be generated each year but anticipates it will be in excess of $400,000 each year.
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
Department of Revenue Administration, Department of Corrections, Liquor Commission, and Department of Natural and Cultural Resources