House Bill 935 Summary

• Establishes the Mississippi Tourism Advisory Board consisting of 10 members (including the Executive Director and Director of Tourism of the Mississippi Development Authority, President of the Mississippi Tourism Association, and 7 gubernatorial appointees representing various tourism sectors) to advise on tourism advertising and marketing strategies.

• Creates the Tourism Advertising and Marketing Fund in the State Treasury to be used by the Mississippi Development Authority for advertising and marketing Mississippi as a tourism destination, excluding salaries, operational expenses, and facility construction/repair.

• Establishes a five-year pilot program (fiscal years 2015-2018) that transfers growth in sales tax revenue from tourism-related industries to the fund, with annual transfers capped at $15,000,000 (adjusted annually for inflation beginning in fiscal year 2016).

• Requires the Commissioner of Revenue to calculate and certify tourism-related sales tax growth by October 20 each year from 2014-2018, with the Department of Finance and Administration transferring the certified amount to the fund by October 31.

• Requires the Mississippi Development Authority to conduct annual return-on-investment studies analyzing tourism promotion success and file reports with the Governor, Secretary of the Senate, and Clerk of the House.