ARTICLE 7. Assessments [13995.65. - 13995.78.]

Cal. Government Code - GOV 7.

in effect

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 13995.65. Section 13995.65.

(a) Each industry category shall establish a committee to determine the following within its industry category: industry segments, assessment formula for each industry segment, and any types of business exempt from assessment. The initial segment committees shall consist of the subcommittee for that category as described in subdivision (d) of Section 13995.30. Following approval of the assessment by referendum, the committees shall be selected by the commission, based upon recommendations from the tourism industry. Committee members need not be commission members. (b) The committee recommendations shall be presented to the commission or selection committee, as applicable. The selection committee may adopt a resolution specifying some or all of the items listed in subdivision (a), plus an allocation of the overall assessment among industry categories. The commission may adopt a resolution specifying one or more of the items listed in subdivision (a), plus an allocation of the proposed assessment. The selection committee and commission are not required to adopt the findings of any committee. (c) The initial industry category and industry segment allocations shall be included in the selection committee report required by subdivision (b) of Section 13995.30. Changes to the industry segment allocation formula may be recommended to the commission by a segment committee at the biennial commission meeting scheduled to approve the referendum resolution pursuant to Section 13995.60. At the same meeting, the commission may amend the percentage allocations among industry categories. Any item discussed in this section that is approved by resolution of the commission, except amendments to the percentage allocations among industry categories, shall be placed on the next referendum, and adopted if approved by the majority of weighted votes cast. (d) Upon approval by referendum, the office shall mail an assessment bill to each assessed business. The director shall determine how often assessments are collected, based upon available staffing resources. The director may stagger the assessment collection throughout the year, and charge businesses a prorated amount of assessment because of the staggered assessment period. The director and office shall not divulge the amount of assessment or weighted votes of any assessed businesses, except as part of an assessment action. (e) An assessed business may appeal an assessment to the director based upon the fact that the business does not meet the definition established for an assessed business within its industry segment or that the level of assessment is incorrect. An appeal brought under this subdivision shall be supported by substantial evidence submitted under penalty of perjury by affidavit or declaration as provided in Section 2015.5 of the Code of Civil Procedure. If the error is based upon failure of the business to provide the required information in a timely manner, the director may impose a fee for reasonable costs incurred by the director in correcting the assessment against the business as a condition of correcting the assessment. (f) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an assessed business may pass on some or all of the assessment to customers. An assessed business that is passing on the assessment may, but shall not be required to, separately identify or itemize the assessment on any document provided to a customer. Assessments levied pursuant to this chapter and passed on to customers are not part of gross receipts or gross revenue for any purpose, including the calculation of sales or use tax and income pursuant to any lease. However, assessments that are passed on to customers shall be included in gross receipts for purposes of income and franchise taxes. (g) For purposes of calculating the assessment for a business with revenue in more than one industry category or industry segment, that business may elect to be assessed based on either of the following: (1) The assessment methodology and rate of assessment applicable to each category or segment, respectively, as it relates to the revenue that it derives from that category or segment. (2) With respect to its total revenue from all industry categories or segments, the assessment methodology and rate of assessment applicable to the revenue in the category and segment in which it earns the most gross revenue. (h) (1) A person sharing common ownership, management, or control of more than one assessed business may elect to calculate, administer, and pay the assessment owed by each business by any of the following methods: (A) Calculated on the basis of each individual business location. (B) Calculated on the basis of each business, or each group of businesses, possessing a single federal employer identification number, regardless of the number of locations involved. (C) Calculated on the basis of the average aggregate percentage of tourism-related gross revenue received by all of the person’s businesses in a particular industry segment or industry category during the period in question, multiplied by the total aggregate tourism-related gross revenue received by all of the businesses, and then multiplied by the appropriate assessment formula. For example, if a person sharing common ownership, management, or control of more than one assessed business in the retail industry segment calculates that the average percentage of tourism-related gross revenue received by all of its locations equals 6 percent during the period in question, that person may multiply all of the gross revenue received from all of those locations by 6 percent, and then multiply that product by the applicable assessment formula. (D) Calculated on any other basis authorized by the director. (2) Except as the director may otherwise authorize, the methods in subparagraph (B), (C), or (D) of paragraph (1) shall not be used if the aggregate assessments paid would be less than the total assessment revenues that would be paid if the method in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) were used.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 13995.65.5. Section 13995.65.5.

(a) Notwithstanding Section 13995.65 or any other provision of this chapter, for purposes of calculating the assessment for a business within the passenger car rental category, the assessment shall be collected only on each rental transaction that commences at either an airport or at a hotel or other overnight lodging with respect to which a city, city and county, or county is authorized to levy a tax as described in Section 7280 of the Revenue and Taxation Code. A transaction commencing at an airport or hotel or other overnight lodging subject to a transient occupancy tax as described in Section 7280 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, including those that commence at a location that might otherwise by regulation be exempt from assessment, shall be subject to the assessment. The assessment shall always be expressed as a fixed percentage of the amount of the rental transaction. (b) This section shall apply to any person or entity described in subdivision (m) of Section 1939.01 of the Civil Code in the same manner as a business in the passenger car rental category for each sharing or rental transaction that begins at an airport.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 13995.66. Section 13995.66.

The initial assessment level shall be the amount that the selection committee recommends in its report to the Governor pursuant to Section 13995.30, which may be less than twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000). This assessment level is a target, and shall serve as the basis for setting application of the assessment formulae, but the actual amount of collected assessments may be more or less than the assessment level.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 13995.67. Section 13995.67.

Assessments may be used in furtherance of the purposes set forth in Section 13995.41, or to fund the costs pursuant to Section 13995.57. Assessments may be used to fund these costs regardless of whether the work was performed by the office or commission.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 13995.68. Section 13995.68.

(a) The director shall establish a list of businesses to be assessed and the amount of assessment owed by each. The director shall collect the assessment from all assessed businesses, and in collecting the assessment the director may exercise the police powers and bring enforcement actions. (b) Funds collected by the director shall be deposited into the account of the commission. This account shall not be an account of the state government. (c) Any costs relating to the collection of assessments incurred by the state shall be reimbursed by the commission.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 13995.69. Section 13995.69.

(a) The office shall develop a list of California businesses within each segment included within the report required by subdivision (b) of Section 13995.30, periodically updated. Other state agencies shall assist the office in obtaining the names and addresses of these businesses. (b) The office shall mail to each business identified pursuant to subdivision (a) a form requesting information necessary to determine the assessment for that business. Any business failing to provide this information in a timely manner shall be assessed an amount determined by the director to represent the upper assessment level for that segment. (c) The office, in consultation with the commission, shall establish by regulation the procedure for assessment collection.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 13995.70. Section 13995.70.

(a) Funding for the commission is a cooperative venture. Because of the benefits that accrue to the state and to its residents by virtue of having the travel and tourism industry participate cooperatively with the state for the purpose of effectively marketing travel and tourism to and within the state, it is the intent of the Legislature that the state shall be responsible for appropriating a minimum of seven million three hundred thousand dollars ($7,300,000) each fiscal year for travel and tourism, and the industry shall be responsible for targeting the level of assessments for each fiscal year at the amount determined to be appropriate by the commission and approved by referendum. However, that assessment level shall ultimately reach at least twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000). The industry may terminate the commission by referendum at any time, including during the initial four years, if the state fails to appropriate seven million three hundred thousand dollars ($7,300,000) in any fiscal year, and the state may decide not to appropriate funding in the event that the commission fails in any fiscal year to target its annual assessment level at or above the level set for the initial referendum. Termination of the commission by the industry shall require an adopted resolution of the commission to either include this issue in a regularly scheduled referendum, or to call a special referendum to decide the issue. (b) The assessed funds shall be audited annually. (c) The assessed funds shall be under the control of the commission, which shall spend the funds consistent with commission policies and the tourism marketing plan. The state shall have no interest in the fund except the general state interest that the state has in nonprofit corporations.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 13995.71. Section 13995.71.

Any assessment levied as provided in this chapter is a personal debt of every person so assessed and shall be due and payable to the director. If any assessed person fails to pay any assessment, the director may file a complaint against the person in a state court of competent jurisdiction for the collection of the assessment.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 13995.72. Section 13995.72.

If any assessed business that is duly assessed pursuant to this chapter fails to pay to the director the assessed amount by the due date, the director may add to the unpaid assessment an amount not to exceed 10 percent of the unpaid assessment to defray the cost of enforcing the collection of the unpaid assessment. In addition to payment for the cost of enforcing a collection, the assessed business shall pay to the director a penalty equivalent to the lesser of either the maximum amount authorized by Section 1 of Article XV of the California Constitution or 5 percent for each 30 days the assessment is unpaid, prorated over the days unpaid, commencing 30 days after the notice has been given to the assessed business of its failure to pay the assessment on the date required, unless the director determines, to his or her satisfaction, that the failure to pay is due to reasonable cause beyond the control of the assessed business.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 13995.73. Section 13995.73.

The director may require assessed businesses to deposit with him or her in advance the following amounts: (a) An amount for necessary expenses. (b) An amount that shall not exceed 25 percent of the assessment to cover costs that are incurred prior to the receipt of sufficient funds from the assessment. (c) The amount of any deposit that is required by the director shall be based upon the estimated assessment for the assessed business.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 13995.74. Section 13995.74.

In lieu of requiring advance deposits pursuant to Section 13995.73, or in order generally to provide funds for defraying administrative expenses or the expenses of implementing the tourism marketing plan until the time that sufficient moneys are collected for this purpose from the payment of the assessments that are established pursuant to this chapter, the director may receive and disburse for the express purposes contributions that are made by assessed businesses. If, however, collections from the payment of established assessments are sufficient to so warrant, the director shall authorize the repayment of contributions, or authorize the application of the contributions to the assessment obligations of persons that made the contributions.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 13995.75. Section 13995.75.

Upon termination of the commission, any remaining funds that are not required by the director to defray commission expenses shall be returned by the director upon a pro rata basis, to all persons from whom the assessments were collected unless the director finds that the amounts to be returned are so small as to make impractical the computation and remitting of the pro rata refund to the appropriate persons. If the director makes a finding that returning the remaining funds would be impractical, he or she may use the moneys in the fund to defray the costs of the office.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 13995.76. Section 13995.76.

Any check or warrant that is drawn against the funds of the commission that remains unclaimed or uncashed for a period of six months from the date of issuance shall be canceled and the money retained for disbursement to the original payee or claimant upon satisfactory identification for a period of one year from the time the check or warrant is canceled. The money so retained, if not claimed within the period of one year, shall be used for administration of the commission, and in furtherance of the tourism marketing plan.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 13995.77. Section 13995.77.

A business is exempt from the assessments provided for in this chapter if any of the following apply: (a) The business is a travel agency or tour operator that derives less than 20 percent of its gross revenue annually from travel and tourism occurring within the state. A travel agency or tour operator that qualifies for this exemption may participate as an assessed business by paying an assessment calculated on the same basis applicable to other travel agencies or tour operators, respectively, and by filing a written request with the director indicating its desire to be categorized as an assessed business. (b) The business is a small business. For purposes of this section, “small business” means a business location with less than one million dollars ($1,000,000) in total California gross annual revenue from all sources. This threshold amount may be lowered, but never to less than five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000), by means of a referendum conducted pursuant to Section 13995.60; however, the director may elect to forgo assessing a business for which the expense incurred in collecting the assessment is not commensurate with the assessment that would be collected. (c) The assessments provided for in this chapter shall not apply to the revenue of regular route intrastate and interstate bus service: provided, however, that this subdivision shall not be deemed to exclude any revenue derived from bus service that is of a type that requires authority, whether in the form of a certificate of public convenience and necessity, or a permit, to operate as a charter-party carrier of passengers pursuant to Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 5351) of Division 2 of the Public Utilities Code. (d) Any business exempted pursuant to this section may enter into a contract for voluntary assessments pursuant to Section 13995.49.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 13995.78. Section 13995.78.

(a) An assessment pursuant to this chapter is a fee imposed by a government on the transaction for purposes of paragraph (29) of subdivision (a) of Section 1770 of the Civil Code. (b) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2024.

Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026