 Greetings
everyone,
Thanks to all of you for participating in Tourism Day at
the Capitol. It was a great statement to our elected
officials on the importance of tourism.
The success of the
Tourism
Development Alliance is due to you, the tourism
professionals from around the state working together to grow
Georgia tourism and building relationships with your local
elected officials. Many of you traveled a great distance to
be there, and we sincerely appreciate it.
The public policy committee will be considering a number of
tourism related bills over the next few weeks. If you have
any comments on the following legislation, please let us
know:
HB 148 - State sales and use tax; aquariums;
provide exemption
- With over 3 million visitors since opening in November of
2005, the Georgia Aquarium is already expanding their
facilities. Rep. Mark Burkhalter has introduced this
bill to allow the aquarium an exemption on sales tax for
construction materials.
HB 159 &
SB 56 - Wine; state license requirements;
direct shipment to Ga. residents; provisions
- This bill was introduce by Rep. Wendell Willard in
the House and Senator Renee Unterman in the Senate.
It would allow any licensed winery, wholesaler or retailer
to ship up to 24 cases of wine per Georgia resident per
year.
HB 162 - Sales and use tax; performing arts
amphitheater facilities; provide exemption
- This bill, also sponsored by Rep. Burkhalter
provides a sales tax exemption for performing arts centers
that begin construction after July 1, 2007 and have costs in
excess of $30 million, more than 60,000 square feet of space
and associated facilities, including, but not limited to,
parking.
HB 169 - Sales and use tax; certain prepared food and
beverage donations; provide exemption
- Under Georgia law, if a restaurant donates food to
charity, they are required to pay sales tax at the full
retail value. This bill would exempt those donations from
sales tax.
HB 214 - Jekyll Island - State Park Authority;
renewal of property lease; provisions
- There has been much passionate debate over the years
regarding the future of Jekyll Island. There is a definite
need for investment in the convention center and
redevelopment of some of the existing hotels. Any changes at
Jekyll must also be consistent with the mission of
preserving this great natural resource. HB 214
extends the lease for another 99 years. It also provides for
the creation of a legislative oversight committee.
HB 262 - Flexibility for Excellence in Education Act;
enact
- Georgia law mandates 180 days of instruction for
elementary and secondary education. This bill by Rep.
Chuck Martin and Rep. Ron Stephens would allow
local school boards to move to a 170 day school year. It is
not a mandatory change.
SB 55 - Alcoholic Beverages; resealed partially
consumed bottle of wine; uniform rules of the road
- This bill sponsored by Senator Unterman would allow
you to brown bag a partially consumed bottle of wine from a
restaurant. This bill was introduced last year by Rep. Bob
Smith. It passed the House and Senate, but was vetoed by the
Governor due to concerns regarding federal transportation
laws.
The General Assembly will be in recess this week through
today to work on the budget. Thursday will be Day 15.
Tourism Foundation Co-Op Program
The FY 2007-2008 Tourism Foundation Co-Op grant
guidelines and related information are now on the
Market Georgia
website but I wanted to make them available here for all
interested parties. The
Georgia Department of Economic Development Tourism
Foundation Co-Op Marketing Reimbursement Program enables
businesses within Georgia to apply for a variety of programs
and grants to further meet their marketing objectives. The
program's primary mission is the creation and implementation
of projects designed to stimulate and expand travel and
tourism within the state. The Program provides financial
assistance in the development of innovative and effective
marketing projects and tools that will attract and retain
visitors for Georgia. It will also strengthen Georgia's
tourism partnerships while extending the State's brand to
position Georgia as the preferred travel destination. It is
the Tourism Foundation's goal to develop substantive
public-private partnerships to increase the opportunities
for a wider variety of assistance.
In an effort to further address Georgia's travel industry
needs, the Co-Op Program is being revised and expanded.
The guidelines for fiscal year 2007-2008 have been
prepared to assist applicants with policy, application and
project procedures necessary for funding under the program.
All materials submitted to
GDEcD are subject to the Freedom of Information Act and
the guidelines supersede all previous Tourism Co-Op Program
guidelines.
Please click on the following to reach Tourism Foundation
Co-Op Information:
FY 08
Co-Op Program Guidelines
Georgia
logo Identity Standards
2007 Tier
Levels
FY 08 Co-Op Application Form
These guidelines contain procedures, requirements and
instructions for developing your grant request. Proposals
must be postmarked on or before April 4, 2007. They may
be hand-delivered; however faxed or emailed copies will not
be accepted.
Newsletter Information
In this newsletter you will find a clarification from Ken
Stewart regarding GDEcD's Global Vision,
upcoming
tourism events across the state and
tourism in the news. Please take time to peruse the information
in the right column.
TDAG wants to continue updating you on all the great
tourism news that is happening in Georgia. As always, we welcome your input and your ideas. Please let us know if you have
any
questions. Thanks for your commitment to Georgia and for
your support of the Tourism Development Alliance.
Best Regards,
Joy Spears Walstrum
Tourism
Development Alliance of Georgia
404-223-2471 (w)
404-358-5634 (m)
404-223-2290 (fax)
joy@tourismdevelopmentalliance.org |
