Bill Aims To Use Lodging Tax Dollars To Curb Housing Crisis, Other Improvements
SUMMIT COUNTY Colo. (CBS4)- Right now in Colorado, if a municipality has a lodging tax it can only go one place: tourism and marketing. The lodging tax is most commonly seen on hotel bills around the state, but now some counties are hoping to ask their voters if they'd like to implement one as well, with options on where that extra cash would go. That's the point of HB22-1117.
"I think we need to uncover every rock we can and look for innovative solutions to solve this affordable housing crisis and to support the workforce that lives in our communities," State Representative for Eagle/Route County Dylan Roberts (D) said.
He's one of the bill's sponsors.
"We need to run our businesses and our schools and our hospitals and our police departments."
Roberts intends for this bi-partisan-backed bill to allow counties and other institutions to make a choice where that money would go aside from only marketing and tourism. Included choices right now are "Economic development, workforce recruitment, management and development, facilitating and enhancing visitor experiences."
That could mean anything from adding restrooms at the top of trailheads to helping make housing more affordable for the workforce in resort towns in the mountains.
"I think we are at a real tipping point in our mountain communities where if we don't do something serious and transformational when it comes to housing and other workforce needs, we're going to lose the workers we need to run our businesses and to keep our communities going," Roberts explained.
Summit County Commissioner Elizabeth Lawrence has rallied people in her county behind the cause as well. She believes this has the potential to focus funding to higher priorities than attracting people to spots in Colorado currently flooded with tourists.
"We can reframe our narrative and shift from this constant marketing and advertising to instead supporting our workforce and really enhancing those visitors that are here and make their trip as wonderful as possible," Lawrence said.
The tax, if approved in local areas by voters on the 2022 ballots, would be a 2% tax on lodging. Lawrence said that is a small price to pay for tourists in order to help keep our communities thriving, and a place worth visiting.
"2% is a very small amount of tax that can really go a long way towards supporting our communities."
The bill is expected to reach the governor's desk by late March.
