A.R.S. tit. 41 ch. 19 — Arizona Revised Statutes Title 41 Chapter 19 — Office Of Tourism

41-2301. Office of tourism There is established an office of tourism. 41-2302. Director; compensation; duties; appointment A. The director of the office shall be responsible for promoting and developing tourism business and planning, and developing a campaign of information, advertising, promotion, exhibition and publicity relating to tourism business, including the recreational, scenic and historical attractions of this state and all communities and regions of this state, and disseminating such information to the public through various state, national and international media. B. The director is eligible to receive compensation determined pursuant to section 38-611. C. The director shall be appointed by the governor pursuant to section 38-211 and shall serve at the governor's pleasure. D. The director shall have at least the following qualifications: 1. Five years of management experience in the domestic and international tourism and travel industry. 2. A fundamental understanding of the technical elements of the tourism industry including travel, trade, group, incentive and individual markets, advertising techniques and evaluation methods. 3. Experience in either marketing or public relations. 41-2303. Assistant director of tourism A. The director shall appoint an assistant director of tourism subject to approval by the governor. B. In the absence of the director, the assistant director shall perform the duties of the director of tourism. 41-2304. Advisory council; representation; duties A. The governor shall appoint a tourism advisory council which shall be composed of fifteen members who shall serve at the pleasure of the governor. B. Members of the tourism advisory council shall include representatives from recreational and tourist attractions, lodging, restaurant or food and transportation industries, other tourism businesses and the general public. The council shall include one member from each of the six geographical planning areas of this state. The respective areas shall consist of the noted counties as follows: 1. Area 1 Maricopa. 2. Area 2 Pima. 3. Area 3 Apache, Coconino, Navajo and Yavapai. 4. Area 4 Mohave, La Paz and Yuma. 5. Area 5 Gila and Pinal. 6. Area 6 Graham, Greenlee, Cochise and Santa Cruz. C. Of the members first appointed, three shall be appointed for a term ending June 30, 1979 and three each for terms ending one, two, three and four years thereafter. Subsequent appointments shall be for terms of five years, except for an appointment to fill an unexpired term, which shall be for the remainder of the term. D. The council shall assist and advise the director in preparation of the budget and in establishment of policies and programs that promote and develop tourism in this state. 41-2305. Powers and duties A. In addition to other duties prescribed by law, the office of tourism shall: 1. Stimulate and encourage all local, state, regional and federal governmental agencies and all private persons and enterprises to participate and cooperate in the promotion of tourism and tourism development in this state. 2. Undertake a comprehensive research program designed to establish the office as the central repository and clearinghouse for all data that relates to tourism. 3. Perform research necessary to determine a long-range tourism development plan for this state. 4. Conduct research at the request of the governor, the legislature or state or local agencies, pertaining to any of its objectives. 5. Formulate policies, plans and programs designed to promote tourism in this state. 6. Provide information and advice on request by local, state and federal agencies and by private citizens and business enterprises on all matters concerning its objectives. The office may provide information and literature in the same manner as described in section 11-259, subsection A. 7. Advise with and make recommendations to the governor and the legislature on all matters concerning tourism. 8. Make an annual report to the governor and the legislature on its activities, finances and the scope of its operations. 9. Conduct an annual statewide tourism symposium to discuss tourism promotion efforts, problems and matters of interest to the tourism industry. 10. Cooperate with the Arizona-Mexico commission in the governor's office and with researchers at universities in this state to collect data and conduct projects in the United States and Mexico on issues that are within the scope of the office's duties and that relate to quality of life, trade and economic development in this state in a manner that will help the Arizona-Mexico commission to assess and enhance the economic competitiveness of this state and of the Arizona-Mexico region. B. The office may: 1. Subject to chapter 4, article 4 of this title, employ, determine the conditions of employment and specify the duties of administrative, secretarial and clerical assistants and contract for the services of outside advisors, consultants and aides reasonably necessary or desirable to enable it adequately to perform its duties. The compensation of such assistants shall be as determined pursuant to section 38-611. The positions of the director, the assistant director and all employees of the office of tourism shall be exempt positions of chapter 4, articles 5 and 6 of this title. 2. Make contracts and incur obligations reasonably necessary or desirable within the general scope of its activities and operations to enable it adequately to perform its duties. 3. Use any and all media of communication, publication and exhibition in the dissemination of information, advertising and publicity in any field relating to its purposes, objectives or duties. 4. Use its funds, facilities and services to provide matching contributions under federal or other programs that further the objectives and programs of the office. 5. Adopt rules it deems necessary or desirable to implement the purposes of the department and the duties and powers of the director. 6. Accept gifts, grants, matching funds and direct payments from public or private agencies or persons for the conduct of programs that are consistent with the general purposes and objectives of this chapter. 7. Conduct tourism education and discussion seminars and workshops to discuss tourism promotion efforts, problems and matters of interest to the tourism industry. 8. Designate, establish and operate state visitor or tourist information centers in the state that furnish tourist information and literature, subject to legislative appropriation. 9. Conduct research pertaining to any of its objectives. 10. Establish a reporting system for public agencies and private persons or enterprises in order to monitor state tourism. 11. Produce, own, sell or license services or personal property related to the duties and goals of the office, limited to marketing and branding related promotional materials or items, copyrightable publications, artwork, trademarks or other intellectual property, and charge reasonable prices for all these items. The director shall establish the prices. Monies received pursuant to this section shall be credited to the tourism development fund established by section 41-2307 to support the office. 12. Exercise its statutory powers and duties by engaging in joint venture activities with private corporations that are specifically designed to further the goals of the office of tourism. Joint ventures entered into by the office of tourism shall conform to the constitution and the laws of this state. 41-2306. Tourism fund A. The tourism fund is established consisting of separate accounts derived from: 1. State general fund monies appropriated to the fund by the legislature. All monies in this account are continuously appropriated to the office of tourism for the purposes of operations and statewide tourism promotion. 2. Revenues deposited pursuant to section 5-835, subsection B or C. All monies in this account are continuously appropriated to the office of tourism, which, in consultation with a consortium of destination marketing organizations in the county in which the tourism and sports authority is established, shall be spent to promote tourism within that county. 3. Revenues deposited pursuant to section 42-6108.01. The legislature shall appropriate all monies in this account to the office of tourism, which, in conjunction with the destination marketing organization in the county in which the tax revenues are collected, shall be spent only to promote tourism within that county and shall not be spent for administrative or overhead expenses. 4. Revenues deposited pursuant to section 5-601.02(H)(3)(b)(iv). The office of tourism shall administer the account. The account is not subject to appropriation, and expenditures from the fund are not subject to outside approval notwithstanding any statutory provision to the contrary. Monies received pursuant to section 5-601.02 shall be deposited directly with this account. On notice from the office of tourism, the state treasurer may invest and divest monies in the account as provided by section 35-313, and monies earned from investment shall be credited to the account. No monies in the account shall revert to or be deposited in any other fund, including the state general fund. Monies in this account shall supplement, not supplant, current funds in other accounts of the tourism fund. Monies in this account shall be spent only to promote tourism within the state and shall not be used for administrative or overhead expenses. 5. Monies received in the form of a gift, grant or donation. The office of tourism may accept and spend monies that are received as gifts, grants or donations. B. Monies in the fund are exempt from the provisions of section 35-190 relating to lapsing of appropriations. 41-2307. Tourism development fund The tourism development fund is established consisting of monies received pursuant to section 41-2305. The office of tourism shall administer the fund. Monies in the fund are continuously appropriated for the purposes of supporting tourism marketing and branding of this state. Beginning in fiscal year 2024-2025, on or before October 1 of each year, the office of tourism shall report to the joint legislative budget committee the monies in the fund and expenditures made pursuant to this section from the previous fiscal year and the purposes of those expenditures. 41-2308. Special sporting events; promotion and marketing; report; appropriation; definitions A. Beginning from and after June 30, 2021, the state treasurer shall pay from monies appropriated pursuant to this section $1,500,000 per fiscal year, in twelve equal monthly installments, to the office of tourism for the purposes described in this section. The office of tourism shall deposit the monies in a separate fund and shall use the monies to promote and market a special sporting event at a host facility. For the purposes of this section, the office of tourism shall contract with a promotion and marketing vendor that has the requisite capabilities and expertise to promote and market a special sporting event, but the office of tourism is not limited to a vendor on statewide contract for marketing services. If the office of tourism develops a competitive solicitation for a promotion and marketing vendor, the office of tourism, in consultation with the host facility, shall develop the qualifications, specifications and evaluation factors for the competitive solicitation in accordance with chapter 23 of this title and rules adopted pursuant to chapter 23 of this title. The procurement evaluation committee that consists of a representative of the state procurement office, the office of tourism and the host facility shall evaluate and recommend a vendor. On or before October 1 of each year, the office of tourism shall report to the joint legislative budget committee the amounts and purposes of all expenditures made pursuant to this subsection in the previous fiscal year. B. The treasurer may make the payments prescribed in subsection A of this section if the special sporting event project cost incurred from and after December 31, 2016 is at least $100,000,000. C. The host facility shall report to the joint legislative budget committee and the governor's office of strategic planning and budgeting that it has incurred the special sporting event project cost prescribed in subsection B of this section on or before December 31, 2020. The joint legislative budget committee shall certify the expenditures reported by the host facility. D. If the requirements of subsections B and C of this section are met, the sum of $1,500,000 is appropriated annually from the state general fund to the state treasurer for the purposes of this section beginning in fiscal year 2021-2022 and ending in fiscal year 2050-2051. E. For the purposes of this section: 1. "Host facility" means a complex facility in this state that has fixed seating, that requires a ticket for admission for viewing a sporting event and that was chosen to host a special sporting event by a site selection organization through a competitive selection process that included consideration of at least one facility that is not located in this state. 2. "Special sporting event" means a sporting event that is sanctioned by a nationally recognized premier national auto racing series governing body that establishes an annual schedule of sporting events and grants rights to conduct the events, that has established and administers rules and regulations governing all participants involved in the events and all persons conducting the events and that requires certain liability assurances, including insurance. 3. "Special sporting event project" means: (a) The acquisition of land subject to property tax in this state to construct a host facility for a special sporting event. (b) The construction, reconstruction, improvement or renovation of improvements to land subject to property tax in this state of a host facility for a special sporting event. 4. "Special sporting event project cost" means the monies spent from and after December 31, 2016 by the owner of the host facility on the special sporting event project.