2010 California Code
Government Code
Article 4. Commission

13995.40.  (a) Upon approval of the initial referendum, the office
shall establish a nonprofit mutual benefit corporation named the
California Travel and Tourism Commission. The commission shall be
under the direction of a board of commissioners, which shall function
as the board of directors for purposes of the Nonprofit Corporation
Law.
   (b) The board of commissioners shall consist of 37 commissioners
comprising the following:
   (1) The secretary, who shall serve as chairperson.
   (2) (A) Twelve members, who are professionally active in the
tourism industry, and whose primary business, trade, or profession is
directly related to the tourism industry, shall be appointed by the
Governor. Each appointed commissioner shall represent only one of the
12 tourism regions designated by the office, and the appointed
commissioners shall be selected so as to represent, to the greatest
extent possible, the diverse elements of the tourism industry.
Appointed commissioners are not limited to individuals who are
employed by or represent assessed businesses.
   (B) If an appointed commissioner ceases to be professionally
active in the tourism industry or his or her primary business, trade,
or profession ceases to be directly related to the tourism industry,
he or she shall automatically cease to be an appointed commissioner
90 days following the date on which he or she ceases to meet both of
the eligibility criteria specified in subparagraph (A), unless the
commissioner becomes eligible again within that 90-day period.
   (3) Twenty-four elected commissioners, including at least one
representative of a travel agency or tour operator that is an
assessed business.
   (c) The commission established pursuant to Section 15364.52 shall
be inoperative so long as the commission established pursuant to this
section is in existence.
   (d) Elected commissioners shall be elected by industry category in
a referendum. Regardless of the number of ballots received for a
referendum, the nominee for each commissioner slot with the most
weighted votes from assessed businesses within that industry category
shall be elected commissioner. In the event that an elected
commissioner resigns, dies, or is removed from office during his or
her term, the commission shall appoint a replacement from the same
industry category that the commissioner in question represented, and
that commissioner shall fill the remaining term of the commissioner
in question. The number of commissioners elected from each industry
category shall be determined by the weighted percentage of
assessments from that category.
   (e) The secretary may remove any elected commissioner following a
hearing at which the commissioner is found guilty of abuse of office
or moral turpitude.
   (f) (1) The term of each elected commissioner shall commence July
1 of the year next following his or her election, and shall expire on
June 30 of the fourth year following his or her election. If an
elected commissioner ceases to be employed by or with an assessed
business in the category and segment which he or she was
representing, his or her term as an elected commissioner shall
automatically terminate 90 days following the date on which he or she
ceases to be so employed, unless, within that 90-day period, the
commissioner again is employed by or with an assessed business in the
same category and segment.
   (2) Terms of elected commissioners that would otherwise expire
effective December 31 of the year during which legislation adding
this subdivision is enacted shall automatically be extended until
June 30 of the following year.
   (g) With the exception of the secretary, no commissioner shall
serve for more than two consecutive terms. For purposes of this
subdivision, the phrase "two consecutive terms" shall not include
partial terms.
   (h) Except for the original commissioners, all commissioners shall
serve four-year terms. One-half of the commissioners originally
appointed or elected shall serve a two-year term, while the remainder
shall serve a four-year term. Every two years thereafter, one-half
of the commissioners shall be appointed or elected by referendum.
   (i) The selection committee shall determine the initial slate of
candidates for elected commissioners. Thereafter the commissioners,
by adopted resolution, shall nominate a slate of candidates, and
shall include any additional candidates complying with the procedure
described in Section 13995.62.
   (j) The commissioners shall elect a vice chairperson from the
elected commissioners.
   (k) The commission may lease space from the office.
   (l) The commission and the office shall be the official state
representatives of California tourism.
   (m) All commission meetings shall be held in California.
   (n) No person shall receive compensation for serving as a
commissioner, but each commissioner shall receive reimbursement for
reasonable expenses incurred while on authorized commission business.
   (o) Assessed businesses shall vote only for commissioners
representing their industry category.
   (p) Commissioners shall comply with the requirements of the
Political Reform Act of 1974 (Title 9 (commencing with Section
81000)). The Legislature finds and declares that commissioners
appointed or elected on the basis of membership in a particular
tourism segment are appointed or elected to represent and serve the
economic interests of those tourism segments and that the economic
interests of these members are the same as those of the public
generally.
   (q) Commission meetings shall be subject to the requirements of
the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act (Article 9 (commencing with Section
11120) of Chapter 1 of Part 1).
   (r) The executive director of the commission shall serve as
secretary to the commission, a nonvoting position, and shall keep the
minutes and records of all commission meetings.



13995.40.5.  (a) Notwithstanding subdivision (d) of Section
13995.40, the number of commissioners elected from each industry
category shall be determined by the weighted percentage of
assessments from that category, except that no more than six
commissioners shall be elected from the passenger car rental
category.
   (b) This section shall become operative only if the Secretary of
Business, Transportation and Housing provides notice to the
Legislature and the Secretary of State and posts notice on its
Internet Web site that the conditions described in Section 13995.92
have been satisfied.



13995.41.  The purpose of the commission is to increase the number
of persons traveling to and within California.



13995.42.  (a) The commission is a separate, independent California
nonprofit mutual benefit corporation. Except as provided in Section
13995.43, the staff of the commission shall be employees solely of
the commission, and the procedures adopted by the commission shall
not be subject to the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5
(commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1).
   (b) Not later than six months following the initial referendum,
the commission shall adopt procedures concerning the operation of the
commission in order to provide due process rights for assessed
businesses.
   (c) In the event that the commission fails to adopt the procedures
described in subdivision (b) within the specified timeframe, the
secretary shall adopt procedures for use by the commission until the
commission adopts its own procedures. These procedures shall be
exempt from the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing
with Section 11340) of Part 1), whether adopted by the commission or
secretary.


13995.43.  (a) The commission shall be administered by an executive
director. That individual shall be a tourism industry marketing
professional, recommended by a vote of the commissioners and approved
by the Governor. The executive director shall serve at the pleasure
of both the commissioners and the Governor.
   (b) The executive director shall report to and receive overall
guidance from the commission, and shall implement the commission's
tourism marketing plan. The executive director shall report to the
secretary for day-to-day managerial and financial responsibilities.
   (c) The executive director shall serve simultaneously as the
director of the office, with the title of Deputy Secretary of Tourism
of the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency, and that
individual shall be an exempt employee, employed by the state. So
long as the commission is in existence, the only director of the
office shall be the executive director of the commission.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the executive director
may supervise both employees of the commission and employees of the
office, notwithstanding the fact that the commission employees are
employees solely of the commission.
   (d) The salary and benefits of the executive director shall be
determined by the commission, and approved by the secretary, based
upon industry standards for a director of a marketing budget of
similar size. The entire salary and all benefits of the executive
director shall be paid from assessments.



13995.44.  (a) (1) The commission shall annually provide to all
assessed businesses a report on the activities and budget of the
commission including, but not limited to, income and expenses, the
fund balance, a summary of the tourism marketing plan, and a report
of progress in achieving the goals set forth in the plan. The
portions of the report that pertain to the commission's income and
expenses and the fund balance, as well as those other portions that
the commission may from time to time deem appropriate, shall be
audited by independent accountants retained by the commission for
this purpose.
   (2) The commission's annual budget shall be subject to the review
and approval of the secretary. However, any decision of the secretary
related to the budget may be overridden by a vote of three-fifths or
more of the commissioners then in office.
   (b) The commission shall maintain a report on the percentage
assessment allocation between industry categories and industry
segments. The report shall also specify the reasons and methodology
used for the allocations. This report shall be updated every time the
assessment allocations are amended. The report shall be made
available to any assessed business.



13995.45.  (a) The commission shall annually prepare, or cause to be
prepared, a written marketing plan. In developing the plan, the
commission shall utilize, as appropriate, the advice and
recommendations of the industry marketing advisory committee or
committees established pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section
13995.47. The commission may amend the plan at any commission
meeting. All expenditures by the commission shall be consistent with
the marketing plan.
   (b) The plan shall promote travel to and within California, and
shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
   (1) An evaluation of the previous year's budget and activities.
   (2) Review of California tourism trends, conditions, and
opportunities.
   (3) Target audiences for tourism marketing expenditures.
   (4) Marketing strategies, objectives, and targets.
   (5) Budget for the current year.
   (c) Before final adoption of the plan, the commission shall
provide each known destination marketing organization in California
notice of the availability of the proposed marketing plan and
suitable opportunity, which may include public meetings, to review
the plan and to comment upon it. The commission shall take into
consideration any recommendations submitted by the destination
marketing organizations, except that the final determination as to
the nature, extent, and substance of the plan shall in all respects
rest solely within the ultimate discretion of the commission, except
as provided in subdivision (d).
   (d) The final adoption of the plan shall be subject to the review
and approval of the secretary. However, any decision of the secretary
related to the plan may be overridden by a vote of three-fifths or
more of the commissioners then in office.



13995.46.  Commissioners and employees of the commission are not
responsible individually in any way whatsoever to any person for
liability for any good faith activity of the commission.



13995.47.  (a) The commission shall establish one or more industry
marketing advisory committees, which may include noncommissioners as
members. The industry marketing advisory committees shall be
structured so that, in the aggregate, they include, to the maximum
extent feasible and reasonable, representation from every geographic
region of the state and every segment of the state's travel and
tourism industry. The commission shall establish procedures for the
operation of the industry marketing advisory committees that will
provide appropriate opportunity for every geographic region of the
state and every segment of the travel and tourism industry to offer
advice and recommendations to the commission relative to the
development of its written marketing plan pursuant to Section
13995.45.
   (b) The commission may also establish from time to time any other
committees it deems appropriate, and may appoint noncommissioners to
the committees.


13995.48.  If the commission believes that the administration of the
marketing plan will be promoted thereby, the commission may borrow
money, with or without interest, to carry out the provisions of the
marketing plan, and may hypothecate anticipated assessment
collections.



13995.49.  The commission may by written contract accept a voluntary
assessment from any person in a travel and tourism related business
who is not an assessed business. The contract shall apply solely to
the person in question and not to any other person in a travel and
tourism related business that is not an assessed business. The
contract shall provide that the voluntary assessment be
proportionately equivalent to the assessment that would be levied if
the person were an assessed business under this chapter, shall permit
that business to vote on any referendum conducted under this chapter
as if that person were an assessed business, and shall have a term
concurrent with the effective period of any referendum on which the
person votes. Individual voluntary assessments under this section
shall be enforceable only under the terms of the respective contracts
to which they pertain. This section shall not be construed to
preclude donations to, or cooperative marketing activities of any
kind with, the commission on the part of any person.