The Massachusetts Tourism Fund, authorized in section
35J of Chapter 10 of the MGL, is funded with 35 percent of the State's
annual revenues received from the hotel occupancy tax authorized in
section 3 of Chapter 64G. The Fund's use is proscribed in Chapter 10,
which includes a formula that assigns various funding levels for tourism
promotion programs and activities, including the Massachusetts Office of
Travel and Tourism, regional tourism promotion agencies, the Massachusetts
Office of International Trade and Investment, and the Cultural Facilities
Fund. While funding for the purposes prescribed in the section are being
made in this budget, the specific requirements of the fund have been
suspended through an outside section for the last several
years. |