67.1361.  Tax on charges for sleeping rooms for certain counties and cities (Buchanan County and City of St. Joseph). — 1.  The governing body of any county of the first classification without a charter form of government and with more than eighty-five thousand nine hundred but less than eighty-six thousand inhabitants and the governing body of any home rule city with more than seventy-three thousand nine hundred but less than seventy-four thousand inhabitants may impose a tax on the charges for all sleeping rooms paid by the transient guests of hotels, motels, bed and breakfast inns and campgrounds and any docking facility which rents slips to recreational boats which are used by transients for sleeping, which shall be at least two percent, but not more than eight percent per occupied room or slip per night, except that such tax shall not become effective unless the governing body of the county or city submits to the voters of the county or city at a state general, primary or special election, a proposal to authorize the governing body of the county or city to impose a tax pursuant to this section.  The tax authorized by this section shall be in addition to any charge paid to the owner or operator and shall be in addition to any and all taxes imposed by law and the proceeds of such tax shall be used by the city or county for funding the promotion of tourism and convention facilities including capital expenditures therefor.  Such tax shall be stated separately from all other charges and taxes.

  2.  Any tax imposed by a county pursuant to subsection 1 of this section shall apply only to unincorporated areas of such county.

  3.  The question shall be submitted in substantially the following form:

­­

­

If a majority of the votes cast on the question by the qualified voters voting thereon are in favor of the question, then the tax shall become effective on the first day of the calendar quarter following the calendar quarter in which the election was held.  If a majority of the votes cast on the question by the qualified voters voting thereon are opposed to the question, then the governing body for the city or county shall have no power to impose the tax authorized by this section unless and until the governing body of the city or county again submits the question to the qualified voters of the city or county and such question is approved by a majority of the qualified voters voting on the question.

  4.  On and after the effective date of any tax authorized under the provisions of this section, the city or county may adopt one of the two following provisions for the collection and administration of the tax:

  (1)  The city or county may adopt rules and regulations for the internal collection of such tax by the city or county officers usually responsible for collection and administration of city or county taxes; or

  (2)  The city or county enter into an agreement with the director of revenue of the state of Missouri for the purpose of collecting the tax authorized in this section.  In the event any city or county enters into an agreement with the director of revenue of the state of Missouri for the collection of the tax authorized in this section, the director of revenue shall perform all functions incident to the administration, collection, enforcement and operation of such tax, and the director of revenue shall collect the additional tax authorized under the provisions of this section.  The tax authorized under the provisions of this section shall be collected and reported upon such forms and under such administrative rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the director of revenue, and the director of revenue shall retain an amount not to exceed one percent for cost of collection.

  5.  If a tax is imposed by a city or county under this section, the city or county may collect a penalty of one percent and interest not to exceed two percent per month on unpaid taxes which shall be considered delinquent thirty days after the last day of each quarter.

  6.  As used in this section "transient guests" means a person or persons who occupy room or rooms in a hotel or motel for thirty-one days or less during any calendar quarter.