AB 610

This bill allows La Crosse County to become a premier resort area

notwithstanding the fact that it does not meet the generally applicable requirement

that at least 40 percent of the equalized assessed value of the taxable property within

a political subdivision be used by tourism-related retailers (the 40 percent

requirement). “Tourism-related retailers" is defined as certain retailers who are

classified in the standard industrial classification manual that is published by the

U.S. Office of Management and Budget. The statutory definition includes 21

retailers who are so classified, including variety stores, dairy product stores, gasoline

service stations, eating places, drinking places, and hotels and motels.

Currently, a number of cities and villages are authorized to enact an ordinance

or adopt a resolution to become a premier resort area notwithstanding the fact that

none of these cities or villages meet the 40 percent requirement. Current law

requires that the ordinance or resolution must be approved by a two-thirds vote of

the members of the governing body who are present when the vote is taken. As is

the case with the villages of Sister Bay, Ephraim, and Stockholm, and the city of

Rhinelander, the premier resort area tax may not take effect in La Crosse County

unless it is approved in a referendum of the electors.

A premier resort area may impose a tax at a rate of 0.5 percent of the gross

receipts from the sale, lease, or rental of goods or services that are subject to the

general sales and use tax and are sold by tourism-related retailers. Under current

law, the proceeds of the tax may be used only to pay for infrastructure expenses

within the jurisdiction of the premier resort area. The definition of “infrastructure

expenses" includes the costs of purchasing, constructing, or improving parking lots;

transportation facilities, including roads and bridges; sewer and water facilities;

recreational facilities; exposition center facilities; fire fighting equipment; and police

vehicles.

Under this bill, if La Crosse County imposes a premier resort area tax, the

proceeds may be used only for transportation expenses within the county, such as the

construction, reconstruction, and improvement of highways, including bridges. No

amount of the tax proceeds may be used to pay for mass transit. Also under the bill,

a county may not impose the tax unless it spends or commits to spend at least the

same amount of revenue generated by taxes and used for highway improvements and

maintenance that it generated and spent for those purposes in the year before the

year in which the tax is first imposed.