A Senate Ways and Means Committee hearing on a bill giving counties more power to regulate transient vacation rentals is postponed to Tuesday after WAM Chairman Donovan Dela Cruz said counties asked for more time so they could work with the state on the wording of a form requiring traveler disclosures.
A Senate Ways and Means Committee hearing on a bill giving counties more power to regulate transient vacation rentals is postponed to Tuesday after WAM Chairman Donovan Dela Cruz said counties asked for more time so they could work with the state on the wording of a form requiring traveler disclosures.
HB 640 requires all travelers entering a county to submit and confirm the complete physical address of their place of stay, including unit number if applicable, which will be provided to the counties so they can validate legally and illegally operating short-term rentals. The bill also gives the counties subpoena power and the authority to establish a registry of permitted vacation rentals open to public inspection and authorizes them to prohibit hosting platforms such as Airbnb, HomeAway, VRBO and TripAdvisor from completing bookings or accepting fees for short-term rentals not listed in the county’s registry.
Dela Cruz said Friday morning that he received 43 testimonies in opposition and 39 supporting the measure.
The meeting is now scheduled for 10:20 a.m. Tuesday.
