SB 620: Low-impact camping areas.

Session Year: 2023-2024
House: Senate

Current Status:

Failed

(2024-08-29: Read second time. Ordered to third reading.)

Introduced

First Committee Review

First Chamber

Second Committee Review

Second Chamber

Enacted

Version:

Existing law, the Special Occupancy Parks Act, establishes requirements for the construction, maintenance, occupancy, use, and design of special occupancy parks. Existing law defines special occupancy park to mean a recreational vehicle park, temporary recreational vehicle park, incidental camping area, or tent camp.

This bill would specify that, for purposes of that act, a special occupancy park does not include a low-impact camping area, as specified, that is located in a county that has enacted an ordinance, as specified, authorizing low-impact camping. The bill would define a low-impact camping area to mean any area of private property that provides for the transient occupancy rental of a temporary sleeping accommodation, as defined, for recreational purposes that is not a commercial lodging facility and meets specified requirements. The bill would require the county in which the low-impact camping area is located to enforce some of those requirements, relating to waste disposal and quiet hours, as specified. The bill would require that a county that has authorized low-impact camping to take specified actions, including, among others, to establish a registry of low-impact camping areas, as specified. The bill would require the provisions relating to low-impact camping areas to be in effect only until January 1, 2026, unless certain conditions are met.

Existing law, the California Tourism Marketing Act, provides for the California Travel and Tourism Commission, a nonprofit mutual benefit corporation, and authorizes the commission to require businesses to pay an assessment for the purpose of increasing the number of persons traveling to and within California. The act authorizes the commission by written contract to accept a voluntary assessment from any person in a travel- and tourism-related business who is not an assessed business. Existing law also authorizes an assessed business to pass on some or all of the assessment to customers. Existing law exempts a business from assessments under the act if certain conditions apply, including if the business is a small business, which is defined to mean a business location with less than $1,000,000 in total California gross annual revenue from all sources, as specified.

On and after January 1, 2026, except as provided, this bill would require that each booking for occupancy of a low-impact camping area be subject to a Rural Tourism Impact Fee equal to 2% of the total cost of the booking, collected from guests of the low-impact camping area. The

This bill would modify the definition of small business to mean a business with less than one million dollars ($1,000,000) in total California gross annual revenue from all sources, as specified. The bill would require the Director of the Office of Tourism to seek to enter into voluntary agreements with online hosting platforms, as defined, to impose, collect, and remit a tourism assessment equal to at least 2% of the total cost of each booking for low-impact camping areas, as specified. The bill would require the Director of the Office of Tourism to provide certain related information to the Director of Finance. The bill would establish in the State Treasury, the Rural Tourism Marketing Fund, which would be continuously appropriated, and would require that the revenues deposited in the fund consist only of Rural Impact Fees. If the booking of a low-impact camping area is arranged through an online hosting platform, the bill would require these fees to be collected and remitted by the platform to the Office of Tourism. The bill would authorize the office to prescribe, adopt, and enforce regulations relating to the administration and enforcement of these provisions, as specified. assessments received by the Office of Tourism as described above. By establishing a continuously appropriated fund, this bill would make an appropriation.

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Discussed in Hearing