The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
Consideration.
The cost of the room in a hotel only if the room is ordinarily used for sleeping, and not including the cost of any food served or personal services rendered to the occupant of such room not related to the cleaning and readying of such room for occupancy.
Hotel.
A building in which members of the public obtain sleeping accommodations for consideration. The term includes a hotel, motel, tourist home, tourist house, tourist court, lodging house, inn, roominghouse, or bed-and-breakfast. The term also includes a short-term rental, which means the rental of all or part of a residential dwelling or property to a person who is not a permanent resident. The term does not include:
(1) 
A hospital, sanitarium, or nursing home;
(2) 
A dormitory or other housing facility owned or leased and operated by an institution of higher education or a private or independent institution of higher education as those terms are defined by V.T.C.A., Education Code § 61.003, used by the institution for the purpose of providing sleeping accommodations for persons engaged in an educational program or activity at the institution; or
(3) 
An oilfield portable unit.
Occupancy.
The use or possession, or the right to the use or possession, of any room in a hotel if the room is one which is ordinarily used for sleeping and if the occupant is other than a permanent resident.
Occupant.
Anyone who, for a consideration, uses, possesses, or has a right to use or possess any room in a hotel under any lease, concession, permit, right of access, license, contract or agreement, other than a permanent resident.
Permanent resident.
Any occupant who has or shall have the right to occupancy of any room in a hotel for at least 30 consecutive days during the current calendar year or preceding year.
Person.
Any individual, company, corporation or association owning, operating, managing or controlling any hotel.
Quarterly period.
The regular calendar quarters of the year, the first quarter being composed of the months of October, November, and December; the second quarter being the months of January, February, and March; the third quarter being the months of April, May, and June; and the fourth quarter being the months of July, August, and September.
(Ordinance 634-18 adopted 3/27/18)
(a) 
There is hereby levied a tax of seven percent of the price paid for a room in a hotel on every person who, under a lease, concession, permit, right of access, license, contract, or agreement, pays for the use or possession or for the right to the use or possession of a room that is in a hotel, costs $2.00 or more each day, and is ordinarily used for sleeping.
(b) 
The price of a room in a hotel does not include the cost of food served by the hotel and the cost of personal services performed by the hotel for the person except those services related to the cleaning and readying of the room for possession.
(c) 
The tax imposed by this article is also levied on, and shall also be due and payable from, a hotel located within the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction if the combined rate of state, county, and city hotel occupancy taxes does not exceed 15 percent of the price paid for a room in the hotel.
(Ordinance 634-18 adopted 3/27/18)
(a) 
The tax imposed by this article shall not be imposed on the United States, a government entity of the United States, or an officer or employee of the United States when traveling on or otherwise engaged in the course of official duties for the governmental entity.
(b) 
This state, or an agency, institution, board, or commission of this state other than an institution of higher education, and an employee or officer of any of this state, or an agency, institution, board or commission of this state, shall pay the tax imposed by this article and is entitled to a refund of the amount of tax paid.
(c) 
To receive a refund of tax paid under this article, the governmental entity entitled to the refund must file a refund claim on a form provided by the city and containing the information required by the city. The form and required information may be prescribed by the state comptroller. A refund claim may be filed under this article only for each calendar quarter for all reimbursements accrued during that quarter.
(Ordinance 634-18 adopted 3/27/18)
(a) 
Every person owning, operating, managing or controlling any hotel located in the city or within its extraterritorial jurisdiction shall collect the tax levied by this article for the city.
(b) 
The hotel operator shall be entitled to one percent of the hotel occupancy tax revenues collected as reimbursement for the operator’s administrative costs for collecting the tax. However, as provided in this article, this reimbursement may be forfeited at the discretion of the city if the hotel operator fails to timely pay over the tax, or timely file a report as required by the city, or who files a false report with the city.
(Ordinance 634-18 adopted 3/27/18)
On the last day of the month following each quarterly period, every person required to collect the tax imposed by this article shall file a report with the city showing the price paid for all room occupancies in the preceding quarter, the amount of the tax collected on such occupancies in the preceding quarter, and any other information the city may reasonably require. Such person shall pay the tax due on such occupancies at the time of filing such report. The report shall be in a form prescribed by the city. The mayor or designee is hereby authorized and directed to do all things necessary or convenient to carry out the terms of this article. The city shall have the authority to request and receive within a reasonable time documentation to substantiate the information contained in the hotel’s quarterly report.
(Ordinance 634-18 adopted 3/27/18)
The city shall have the power to make such rules and regulations as are reasonable and necessary to effectively collect the tax levied hereby, and shall, upon reasonable notice, have access to books and records necessary to enable the city to conduct an audit so as to determine the correctness of any report filed as required by this article and the amount of taxes due under the provisions of this article.
(Ordinance 634-18 adopted 3/27/18)
(a) 
Any person failing to file a tax report under this article, who fails to collect the tax imposed by this article, or who files a report with knowledge that any item of information in the report is false, commits a misdemeanor offense and, upon conviction, shall be assessed a fine not to exceed $500.00. It is the intent of the governing body of the city that the failure to file the tax report or to collect the tax imposed by this article is a strict liability offense and no allegation or proof of intent or of mental state is necessary to prosecute or convict.
(b) 
If any person shall fail to pay to the city the tax imposed by this article when due, he shall pay a penalty of 15 percent of the total amount of the tax owed if the tax has been delinquent for at least one complete quarterly period.
(c) 
Delinquent taxes shall accrue interest from the first day after the date due until the tax is paid. The rate of interest is the prime rate plus one percent, as published in The Wall Street Journal on the first day of each calendar year that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday.
(d) 
The City may conduct an audit of any person required to withhold and pay taxes under this article. The city shall conduct an audit of any person required to withhold and pay a tax under this article if the person is required to file a report and does not file the report. If the tax has been delinquent for at least two complete fiscal quarters and the city has not received a disbursement from the Texas Comptroller of state-collected hotel tax revenues, the city may also assess and collect all costs incurred in conducting an audit.
(e) 
The city may bring suit in any court of competent jurisdiction to enforce the provisions of this article. The city shall recover all court costs, expenses, including costs of conducting audits, and reasonable attorney’s fees.
(f) 
The remedies provided by this section are in addition to any and all other available remedies.
(Ordinance 634-18 adopted 3/27/18)
The revenue derived from any hotel occupancy tax imposed by this article may be used only to promote tourism and the convention and hotel industry, and may only be used in accordance with and for the purposes authorized by state law.
(Ordinance 634-18 adopted 3/27/18)
(a) 
The city may, by contract, delegate to an individual, another governmental entity or a private organization, the management or supervision of programs and activities funded with revenue from the hotel occupancy tax authorized by this article. The city shall approve in writing in advance the annual budget of the individual, entity or organization to which it delegates those functions, and shall require periodic reports, at least annually, listing the expenditures made of the tax revenue provided by the city. The approval by the city of the annual budget creates a fiduciary duty owing to the city in the individual, entity or organization with respect to the revenue provided by the city under the contract.
(b) 
The individual, entity or organization must maintain revenue provided by the city from the tax in a separate account established for that purpose and may not commingle that revenue with any other money or maintain it in any other account.
(c) 
An individual, entity or organization with whom the city contracts to conduct authorized activities shall maintain complete and accurate financial records of each expenditure of hotel occupancy tax revenue made and, on request of the city or other authorized person, shall make the records available for inspection and review.
(Ordinance 634-18 adopted 3/27/18)