SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- California Senate Bill 1606 passed its first
committee, but with new wording that no longer calls for the
immediate removal of the link between the state's Web site and
toll-free numbers to private companies that take lodging
reservations.
The bill, which was introduced by state Sen. Jackie Speier
(D-South San Francisco) at the urging of the travel agency group
California Coalition of Travel Organizations, was approved by the
business and professions committee by a 4-0 vote.
But lobbying from powerful groups representing the California
travel industry, which is fighting the coalition's attempts to kill
the contract with private reservations firms, was effective in
making substantial changes to the measure.
The portions of the bill that deal with ending the link between
the state Web site and the toll-free numbers to private companies
were eliminated.
The bill now calls for the Trade and Commerce Agency, which
oversees the state Division of Tourism, to adopt regulations
regarding "the manner in which it provides links from its Internet
Web site address and its toll-free telephone number to any person
other than a public entity." The regulations would have to be
adopted by Jan. 1, 2002.
Richard Steffen, a Speier aide, said the bill would require a
"rule-making" proceeding, which would open the discussion over the
controversial subject of the criteria used by the Trade and
Commerce agency to select private industry partners for its Web
site and toll-free telephone lines. There would be public hearings
for input, he said.
CCTO president Diane Embree of All About Travel, Northridge,
Calif., said the changes to the bill appeared necessary "to get it
through the committee" because of the strength of the lodging
industry and tourism groups that want to maintain links to private
reservations firms.
She said the CCTO has not given up hope that it can successfully
end the state tourism division's agreements with the firms and
plans to continue negotiations to further amend the bill.
The CCTO claims the state should not use taxpayer-sponsored
resources, such as its Web site and toll-free numbers that are
designed to promote tourism to California, to allow only a few
private companies to engage in booking travel.