1.This Act may be cited as
the Helping Our States Through Tourism
Act of 2007
or the HOST Act of 2007
.
2.Congress finds that—
(1)in the 12-month
period ending on June 30, 2005—
(A)tourism was the
second largest industry in Louisiana, employing 175,000 workers;
(B)tourism was the
fifth largest industry in Mississippi, employing 126,500 workers;
(C)tourism generated
$600,000,000 in State and local taxes in Louisiana;
(D)tourism generated
$634,000,000 in State and local taxes in Mississippi;
(E)tourism had a
$9,900,000,000 economic impact in the State of Louisiana;
(F)tourism had a
$6,350,000,000 economic impact in the State of Mississippi;
(G)the State of
Louisiana generated $14 in revenue for every dollar the State spent on
tourism;
(H)the State of
Mississippi generated $12 in revenue for every dollar the State spent on
tourism;
(2)Hurricanes
Katrina and Rita severely impacted Louisiana’s travel and tourism industry,
reducing—
(A)direct traveler
expenditures by more than 18 percent between 2004 and 2005, from $9,900,000,000
to $8,100,000,000; and
(B)travel-generated
employment by 9 percent between 2004 and 2005;
(3)Hurricane Katrina
severely impacted Mississippi’s travel and tourism industry, reducing—
(A)direct traveler
expenditures by more than 18 percent between 2004 and 2005, from $6,350,000,000
to $5,200,000,000; and
(B)travel-generated
employment by nearly 18 percent between 2004 and 2005, from 126,500 jobs to
103,885 jobs; and
(4)the Gulf Coast
economy cannot fully recover without the revitalization of the tourism
industries in Louisiana and Mississippi.
3.In this Act:
(1)The
term Administrator means the Administrator of the Small Business
Administration.
(2)The term disaster area means the areas in
Louisiana and Mississippi in which the President has declared a major disaster
in response to Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita.
(3)Hurricane
Katrina and Rita disaster areasThe term Hurricane Katrina
and Rita disaster areas means the geographic areas designated as major
disaster areas by the President between August 27, 2005, and September 25,
2005, in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas pursuant to title
IV of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42
U.S.C. 5121 et seq.).
(4)The term major disaster has the meaning
given that term in section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and
Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122).
(5)Relevant
tourism entitiesThe term relevant tourism entity
means any convention and visitors bureau, nonprofit organization, or other
tourism organization that the governor of Louisiana or the governor of
Mississippi, as the case may be, after consultation with the Secretary of
Commerce, determines to be eligible for a grant under section 3.
(6)The term small business concern has the
meaning given that term in section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C.
632).
4.
(a)The Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Assistant
Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development, shall establish a grant program
to assist relevant tourism entities to promote travel and tourism in Louisiana
and Mississippi in accordance with this section.
(b)From the amounts appropriated pursuant to subsection (f),
the Secretary shall allocate, as expeditiously as possible—
(1)$130,000,000 to
the State of Louisiana; and
(2)$45,000,000 to
the State of Mississippi.
(c)Amounts allocated to a State under subsection (b) shall be
used by the State to provide grants to any relevant tourism entity to—
(1)promote travel
and tourism in the State; and
(2)carry out other
economic development activities that have been approved by the Secretary of
Commerce, in consultation with the State.
(d)Notwithstanding
any other provision of law, a State, in awarding grants under subsection
(c)—
(1)may use such
criteria as the State determines appropriate; and
(2)shall not be
required to apply eligibility criteria for programs administered by the Federal
Government, including the Department of Commerce.
(e)Not more than 1 percent of the funds allocated to States
under subsection (b) may be used for administrative expenses.
(f)Authorization
of appropriationsThere are authorized to be appropriated
$175,000,000 to carry out this section.
5.Economic injury
disaster loans
(a)
(1)The Administrator may
make a loan under section 7(b)(2) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C.
636(b)(2)) to a small business concern located in the disaster area that can
demonstrate that—
(A)more than 51 percent of the revenue of that
small business concern comes from tourism; and
(B)such small
business concern suffered direct economic injury from the slowdown in travel
and tourism in the disaster area following Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane
Rita.
(2)Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
an application for a loan described in paragraph (1) shall be submitted not
later than—
(A)18 months after the date of the enactment
of this Act; or
(B)such later date as the Administrator may
establish.
(b)Authorization
of appropriationsThere are authorized to be appropriated such
sums as are necessary to carry out this section.
6.Federal Gulf
Coast Travel and Meetings Fund
(a)There
is established in the Treasury of the United States a trust fund, to be known
as the Federal Gulf Coast Travel and Meetings Fund (referred to in this section
as the Trust Fund
), consisting of such amounts as are
appropriated to the Trust Fund pursuant to subsection (f) and any interest
earned on investment of amounts in the Trust Fund pursuant to subsection
(b).
(b)It shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury
to invest such portion of the Trust Fund that is not required to meet current
withdrawals. Such investments may only be made in interest-bearing obligations
of the United States or in obligations, whose principal and interest is
guaranteed by the United States.
(c)Obligations
from trust fund
(1)The Secretary of the Treasury may obligate such sums as
are available in the Trust Fund for the purposes described in paragraph
(2).
(2)Eligible uses
of trust fundAmounts obligated under this subsection may be
transferred to Federal agencies to pay for—
(A)lodging, meals,
travel, and other expenditures associated with conventions, conferences,
meetings or other large gatherings attended by not less than 100 Federal
employees and occurring within the Hurricane Katrina and Rita disaster areas;
and
(B)other
expenditures in the Hurricane Katrina and Rita disaster areas, in accordance
with paragraph (3).
(3)Prohibited uses
of trust fundAmounts obligated under this subsection may not be
transferred to Federal agencies to pay for—
(A)Federal
investigations;
(B)court cases;
or
(C)events attended
by less than 100 Federal employees.
(4)Amounts may not be obligated under paragraph (2)(B)
before the date that is 30 days after the Secretary of the Treasury submits a
report to the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the Committee on
Appropriations of the House of Representatives that sets forth the intended
uses for such amounts.
(d)Not
later than December 31, 2007, the Secretary of Treasury shall submit a report
to the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the Committee on
Appropriations of the House of Representatives that sets forth—
(1)the balance
remaining in the Trust Fund;
(2)the expenditures
made from the Trust Fund since its inception;
(3)information on
the applications of the Federal agencies whose requests from the Trust Fund
have been denied;
(4)information on
the applications that have been approved, including the amount transferred to
each Federal agency and the uses for which such amounts were approved;
and
(5)such additional
information as the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the Committee
on Appropriations of the House of Representatives shall reasonably
require.
(e)Authorization
of appropriationsThere are authorized to be appropriated
$2,500,000 for fiscal year 2007 to be deposited in the Trust Fund.