To amend the Act of July 5, 1884 to permit the imposition of taxes on vessels operating as tourist accommodations, and for other purposes.

Ed Case

Democrat · HI · Representative

Source: Congress.gov · FEC

No cosponsors on record. Bills can pass without cosponsors — this often means the sponsor introduced the bill alone, either because it's a messaging bill, a chairman's mark, or simply early in the legislative cycle.

Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

2026-06-30

Source: Congress.gov

The proposal would allow states and local governments to collect taxes on boats and ships that operate as tourist accommodations, such as cruise ships or floating hotels. Currently, an old 1884 law prevents these taxes from being imposed on vessels, so this change would give communities the ability to generate tax revenue from the tourism industry that uses their waters. This would affect cruise ship companies, boat tour operators, and local governments that depend on tourism revenue.

AI-assisted summary generated from the official bill metadata (title, subjects, actions) sourced from Congress.gov. Cached and reviewed. Always verify against the official text linked below.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H.R. 9543 Introduced in House (IH)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 9543 To amend the Act of July 5, 1884, to permit the imposition of taxes on vessels operating as tourist accommodations, and for other purposes. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES June 30, 2026 Mr. Case introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To amend the Act of July 5, 1884, to permit the imposition of taxes on vessels operating as tourist accommodations, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. IMPOSITION OF TAXES ON VESSELS OPERATING AS TOURIST ACCOMMODATIONS. Section 4 of the Act of July 5, 1884 (33 U.S.C. 5), is amended-- (1) in subsection (b)-- (A) in paragraph (2)(C), by striking ``or'' at the end; (B) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at the end and inserting ``; or''; and (C) by adding at the end the following: ``(4) taxes on vessels operating as cruise ships, or the passengers or crew of such vessels.''; and (2) by adding at the end the following: ``(c) Consent of Congress.--Any non-Federal interest may levy and collect any of the impositions in paragraphs (b)(1), (b)(2), (b)(3), and (b)(4) under clauses 2 and 3 of section 10, and under clause 3 of section 8, of Article 1 of the Constitution. ``(d) Cruise Ship Defined.--In this section, the term `cruise ship' means any vessel that-- ``(1) docks at any port in the United States; and ``(2) charges a fee for and provides an accommodation or living quarter on such vessel to transients.''. <all>

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