LANSING – A tourism promotion program would have to be established and run by the state under legislation the Michigan Senate and House passed Wednesday.
HB 5865 , HB 5866 and HB 5867 , all passed unanimously by the Senate and were enrolled by the House after votes of 91-16, 88-19 and 85-22, respectively, save HB 5865 that was amended and returned to the upper chamber.
The House also discharged from committee and voted on Senate measures in the package, SB 1223 (92-15) and SB 1224 (86-21). The Senate will have to concur in House substitutes to the bills that brought the legislation in line with the Senate bills before they can be sent to the governor.
The bills call for creation of the Michigan Promotion Program needed for the state’s economic development efforts, and call for $60 million to be transferred from the 21st Century Jobs Trust Fund to the Michigan Strategic Fund.
Aside from some money directed for agricultural tourism, the bills require two-thirds of the funding go to tourism promotion and one-third go for business tourism.
While there was no debate on the bills in the Senate, over in the House where there was some dissention, Rep. Bruce Caswell (R-Hillsdale) told his colleagues they were risking future state dollars in the hope that the state can sell bonds for the tourism program in a time when the market is not great.
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