Pasco County commissioners voted Tuesday to spend up to $250,000 in hotel-tax dollars on a film, documentary or series tied to Florida's cultural heritage.

The provision is part of Ordinance 26-37, which updates the county's 2024-28 tourist development plan. Chairman Jack Mariano signed the measure, and it took effect Wednesday after being filed with the Florida Department of State.

What a production must do to qualify

The money comes from Pasco's 5% tourist development tax, a levy on overnight hotel stays. To qualify, a production must be "based on a work of established Florida cultural heritage" that depicts the state's settlement, environmental history or cultural identity, according to the ordinance. It must also shoot scenes or run promotional activities in Pasco County and show "measurable tourism promotion benefits."

A business impact estimate published Sept. 10 labeled the spending a "one-time cultural heritage sponsorship." The estimate said both the film provision and a new museum-support category would "directly advance tourism promotion and visibility for Florida's Sports Coast."

Wiregrass sports campus keeps its tax funding

The same update keeps tourist-tax revenue flowing to the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus at 3021 Sports Coast Way in Wesley Chapel. The ordinance continues authorizing hotel-tax dollars for debt service on the campus. Commissioners raised the tax rate from 2% to 4% in August 2017 and to 5% in April 2022. The current annual debt-service amount is not stated in the ordinance.

The campus opened in August 2020 on land the Porter family donated northeast of the Shops at Wiregrass. Commissioners voted in April 2023 to buy out private management partner RADDSports LLC and now operate the facility directly.

Museums become eligible for tourist-tax money

Ordinance 26-37 also authorizes tourist-tax spending on operations at publicly owned or nonprofit museums open to the public. Eligible costs include visitor-facing staffing, maintenance, exhibit development and marketing tied to tourism.

The ordinance text and business impact estimate contain no public comments from commissioners on the film provision. Residents can raise questions at the next Pasco County Commission meeting. The date of that meeting was not listed in the ordinance.