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Minutes for HB2344 - Committee on Commerce
Short Title
Expanding the membership of the council on travel and tourism, updating the committee assignment required for members appointed from the house of representatives and modifying the department of commerce's grant program for tourism promotion by reducing the allocation of grants for public entities and removing the limitation on grant amounts to any single entity.
Minutes Content for Thu, Mar 16, 2023
Chair Erickson opened the hearing on HB 2344.
Staff provided an overview of the bill.
Proponents:
Rachel Willis, Director of Legislative Affairs, KS Department of Commerce, spoke in support of the bill. (Attachment 1) The bill removes the references to Wildlife, Parks ad Tourism and changes it to Commerce, and updates the references to specific legislative committee to reflect the current committee names of the legislature. Three additional members will be added to the Governor's Council on Travel and Tourism bringing the total number of voting members to twenty. The bill aligns the grant allocation percentages for the Attraction Development Grant (ADG) program with the needs of the State.
Natalie Bright, Executive Director, Travel Industry Association of Kansas, appeared in support of the bill. (Attachment 2) The bill proposes to expand the membership of the Council on Travel and Tourism by adding three seats. In addition, the bill seeks to modify the percentages in the Attraction Development Grant program for tourism promotion by reducing the allocation of grants for public entities and removing the limitation on grant amounts to any single entity.
Chair Erickson closed the hearing on HB 2344.
