Action alert: Original Airbnb bills would preserve local authority; substitute bill does not

SB 1578 (Norment) authorizes a locality to adopt an ordinance requiring the registration of persons offering property for short-term rental. The bill defines “short-term rental” as the provision of a room or space suitable for sleeping or lodging for less than 30 consecutive days.  The bill authorizes localities to impose fees and penalties on persons who violate the registry ordinance or who offer short-term rentals that have multiple violations of state or federal laws or ordinances, including those related to alcoholic beverage control.

SB 1579 (Stanley) affirms the rights of localities to regulate the short-term rental of property, defined as the provision of space suitable for sleeping or lodging for fewer than 30 days. If a locality allows short-term rentals, the locality shall require that the person offering property for rental notify adjacent landowners in writing, obtain local permission to offer the property for rental, and carry a minimum of $500,000 of commercial premises liability insurance. If a locality prohibits short-term rentals, any person or entity, including an online hosting platform, that advertises the availability of a short-term rental in the locality shall be subject to a $10,000 fine per violation.

The bills will be voted on in the Senate Local Government Committee Tuesday afternoon, January 31, in Senate Room B.

Your Talking Points

1. THESE BILLS ADDRESS MANY OF LOCAL GOVERNMENTS’ CONCERNS ABOUT LAND USE AND LOCAL TAXES.
   1. Local government primacy in local land use would be maintained.
   2. Localities would maintain control of local tax dollars and be able to audit those collections.
   3. The character of local neighborhoods would be preserved.
2. AIRBNB LOBBYISTS HAVE PREPARED A SUBSTITUTE BILL THAT PRECLUDES LOCALITIES FROM AUDITING LOCAL TOT REVENUES, PRE-EMPTS LOCAL LAND USE POWERS TO RESTRICT SHORT-TERM LODGING IN RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOODS, AND HAMSTRINGS STATE AND LOCAL EFFORTS TO MANAGE SHORT-TERM RENTAL ACTIVITIES.
   1. The substitute bill severely limits information localities need to know such as the number of times a person puts his or her property up for short-term rental.
   2. The substitute bill forbids localities from prohibiting short-term rentals.
   3. The substitute bill exempts short-term rental registration from the Freedom of Information Act, meaning neighbors cannot find out from their own local government if the property next door to them is a short-term rental.
   4. The substitute bill forbids localities from conducting any audit of applicable taxes paid by an on-line platform like Airbnb.

Who to contact

Senate Local Government Committee members:
Stanley (Chairman), Hanger, Marsden, Favola, Lewis, Surovell, DeSteph, Dunnavant,Chase, Sturtevant, McPike, Carrico, McClellan
VML Staff Contacts: Michelle Gowdy mgowdy@vml.org and Neal Menkes nmenkes@vml.org