RCW 43.384.050 Use of funds.

(1) From amounts appropriated to the department for the authority and from other moneys available to it, the authority may incur expenditures for any purpose specifically authorized by this chapter including:

(a) Entering into a contract for a multiple year statewide tourism marketing plan with a statewide nonprofit organization existing on June 7, 2018, whose sole purpose is marketing Washington to tourists. The marketing plan must include, but is not limited to, focuses on rural tourism-dependent counties, natural wonders and outdoor recreation opportunities of the state, including sustainable whale watching, attraction of international tourists, identification of local offerings for tourists, and assistance for tourism areas adversely impacted by natural disasters. In the event that no such organization exists on June 7, 2018, or the initial contractor ceases to exist, the authority may determine criteria for a contractor to carry out a statewide marketing program;

(b) Contracting for the evaluation of the impact of the statewide tourism marketing program; and

(c) Paying for administrative expenses of the authority, which may not exceed two percent of the state portion of funds collected in any fiscal year.

(2) All nonstate moneys received by the authority under RCW 43.384.060 or otherwise provided to the authority for purposes of matching funding must be deposited in the authority's private local account created under RCW 43.384.020(4) and are held in trust for uses authorized solely by this chapter.

(3) "Sustainable whale watching" means an experience that includes whale watching from land or aboard a vessel that reduces the impact on whales, provides a recreational and educational experience, and motivates participants to care about marine mammals, the sea, and marine conservation.

[ 2019 c 291 § 5; 2018 c 275 § 6.]