WASHINGTON STATE

Washington State House Democrats

HOUSE DEMOCRATS

Federal Way gets tourism boost from Legislature

The city of Federal Way can celebrate a victory in the state Legislature, and will now have the autonomy and the funding to aggressively promote tourism in the city.  Last week, on the final day for the House and Senate to consider policy bills from the opposite chamber, the Senate gave a 46-3 upvote to HB 1279, sponsored by the city’s two state representatives.

As Rep. Carol Gregory (D-30th, Federal Way), co-sponsor of HB 1279, said when the bill initially passed the House, “Those of us who are fortunate enough to live in Federal Way know what we have.  Fine hotels, affordable motels, and unique B&Bs.  Our Olympic-class aquatic center and the Pacific Rim Bonsai Collection. A fast-growing creative arts scene.  Terrific restaurants, unparalleled outdoor recreation, and wonderful people.  It seems a shame to keep those a secret.”

Since 2009, cities in King County have had the authority to join with neighboring cities to establish and operate what the Legislature called a tourism promotion area (TPA).  Funds to promote tourism in the TPA would be provided by a $2-per-night room fee collected by hotels and motels within the TPA.

The problem for Federal Way was that none of the adjacent cities were interested in joining with it to form a TPA, and individual cities were not authorized to create a TPA on their own.  The bill that passed today removes the requirement that a TPA could only be created by two or more cities acting together.

”The welcome sign is out in Federal Way,” Gregory said. “I congratulate my seatmate, Rep. Linda Kochmar, and I want to thank my colleagues in the House and Senate for their votes.”