Bend city officials have wanted for years to be able to spend more tourism taxes on the care of roads tourists use. House Bill 2744 would make that possible in Bend and throughout the state.

The city of Bend struggles to come up with money to pay for its roads. Voters rejected a gas tax last year. And there is still a backlog of tens of millions in road repairs.

Where is the money going to come from before the roads get worse?

Tourism tax dollars are one place where it makes sense to look. Bend gets about $10 million a year in the lodging taxes collected by hotels, according to an article by Bulletin reporter Marina Starleaf Riker. About $6.5 million goes to the general fund, which helps pay for things like police and fire protection. The remaining $3.5 million goes to generate tourism through Bend’s tourism marketing agency, Visit Bend.

The bill would allow the city to take some of that $3.5 million and spend it on “tourism-related facilities,” such as downtown roads and sidewalks. City staff have said they were considering taking about $500,000. The city would also have to change a city ordinance to allow the city to spend the money on something other than tourism marketing.

Tourism in Bend is not suffering. Some 3 million visitors come every year to Bend. There could, of course, be more. There could be more tourists in the winter and in the so-called shoulder seasons. And some people would argue that Bend needs more tourists in the summer, too.

Opponents of the legislation have argued that local governments should not look to solve their financial issues by bleeding a successful industry. But tourists do put an additional burden on roads and other city infrastructure. It’s only reasonable that local governments be able to make the decision that more tourism dollars go to the needs created by tourists.

The Legislature should pass the bill.