https://www.rentresponsibly.org/spring-2025-state-short-term-rental-bills-to-watch/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Paris Achen | Updated on September 19, 2025

State legislatures around the nation are back in session. Since 2021, state short-term rental bills have increased steadily each year, and this year is no exception. As of March 10, 220 state bills containing STR and vacation rental terms have been filed. Below is a list of some of the most important ones to watch so far.

Alaska House Bill 139

A state lawmaker has proposed groundbreaking legislation that could make Alaska the first state to offer its Governor’s mansion as a short-term rental when not in official use.

“This bill would look at the governor’s mansion as an asset that we try to fund and try to be innovative in ways to try to make some of these things pay for their own expense,” said Rep. Will Stapp, R-Fairbanks, who introduced the legislation.

Under HB 139, the Governor’s mansion, built in 1912 in Juneau, could be rented for weddings, receptions, or even short-term stays, like those offered on Airbnb or Vrbo, during periods when the legislature is not in session, and the Governor is not in residence.

Final update: HB 139 received a hearing in the House State Affairs Committee on April 22, 2025, but never received votes from the House and Senate before the legislative session adjourned on May 20, 2025.

Arkansas HB 1445

The Arkansas State Legislature is considering a bill that would prohibit local governments, such as municipalities and counties, from enacting or enforcing any ordinance that effectively prohibits or limits the use of a property as a short-term rental.

Bill sponsor Rep. Bill McKenzie, in a post on X, described HB 1445 as “property rights legislation that works to beat back against onerous regulation from local governments, promotes tourism to our remote Arkansas destinations, and secures fundamental constitutional rights.”

During a hearing on Feb. 12, 2025, he stated that the bill would not “take away a single right of local law enforcement to enforce nuisance ordinances.”

The bill would allow local governments to revoke an STR license if the property has three nuisance ordinance violations.

Some local government officials testified in opposition to the bill, saying it would prevent them from adequately addressing citizen concerns and regulating STRs according to local needs.

The City, County, & Local Affairs Committee passed the bill 11-9 on Feb. 12, 2025, after the nearly three-hour hearing.

Final update: HB 1445 was never considered by the full House of Representatives before the end of the Arkansas legislative session on May 5, 2025, so the bill is now dead.

Colorado HB 25-1247

House Bill 25-1247 would increase the cap on the county lodging tax from 2% to 6%. The tax applies to the purchase price for rooms or accommodations, including short-term rentals. If the bill is approved, any county in Colorado could raise the tax to up to 6% with voter approval.

Revenue from the tax currently may be used for:

• Local tourism promotion
• Housing and childcare for tourism workers
• Facilitating or enhancing visitor experiences

Under HB25-1247, the revenue could also be used for:

• Public infrastructure maintenance and improvements
• Nature preservation and promotion of sustainable tourism practices
• Cultural and historical preservation
• Public safety

The Colorado House of Representatives approved the bill 42-20 on March 10, 2025, while the Senate approved the bill 44-18 on April 11, 2025.

“While lodging taxes already contribute significantly to state and local funding, this bill proposes expanding the allowable uses of these taxes in ways that may not align with the original intent of supporting tourism and lodging-related infrastructure,” Mile High Hosts said in an alert to members.

“We believe that if lodging tax revenue is increased, it should be allocated toward initiatives that directly address housing solutions, as this has been a key focus of recent regulations affecting short-term rentals. However, any changes to how these funds are used should be approached thoughtfully, ensuring they don’t place an unfair burden on guests and the vacation rental community.”

Final update: Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed the final version of HB25-1247 into law on May 13, 2025.

Florida House Bill 7033

In a move that could reshape Florida’s vibrant tourism industry, lawmakers have proposed dissolving the state’s local Tourist Development Councils by the end of 2025.

Revenue from the state Tourist Development Tax–a bed tax collected from guests staying in hotels, motels, and short-term rentals–currently funds local tourism marketing efforts through county Tourist Development Councils (TDCs).

HB 7033, a large tax package, would abolish all 62 of the state’s TDCs and redirect Tourist Development Tax revenue toward property tax credits, beginning in 2026, according to Florida Politics. Meanwhile, House Bill 1221 would make all Tourist Development Taxes automatically expire every eight years. 

Both bills passed the Florida House of Representatives on April 25, 2025, and are now being considered in the Senate.

Final update: The Senate referred HB 7033 and HB 1221 to the Appropriations Committee, where both bills died on June 16, 2025.

Idaho S 1162

The Idaho Legislature is considering Senate Bill 1162, which bars cities and counties from passing any ordinance that prohibits short-term rentals. The legislation would allow local governments to enact ordinances to regulate STRs so long as the regulations “do not impose different restrictions or obligations on the short-term rentals than are imposed on single-family dwellings or similar structures not used as short-term rentals.”
This bill would effectively prohibit ordinances that require:

• Owner occupation
• Professional property management
• Caps on the number of STRs
• Limits on the number of rented nights
• Internal or external signage, notices, or diagrams
• Notices to neighbors
• Conditional use permits in a residential zone

The bill also classifies STRs as nontransient residential for zoning and building code purposes. Cities and counties may require STRs to apply for an annual business license with a fee of no more than $50 and may revoke the business license of any STR that has three or more ordinance violations in the previous 12 months.

The bill was approved by the Senate Local Government & Taxation Committee on March 21, 2025, with a recommended amendment. The Senate approved amendments to the bill on March 28, 2025. As of March 29, 2025, the final reading of the bill had not yet been scheduled.

Final update: The Senate defeated the bill 23-to-11 on April 1, 2025.

Kentucky SB 61

Senate Bill 61 would bar cities and counties from regulating the density of short-term rentals in their communities. The bill was initially created to make minor adjustments to state regulations on private swimming pools. However, Speaker of the House David Osborne filed an amendment on March 14, 2025, to limit municipalities’ power to regulate STRS.

If approved, the bill would preempt and nullify Lexington’s recently passed STR regulations that sought to limit the number of STRs in proximity to each other.

The Kentucky House of Representatives approved the bill with the Speaker’s amendment on March 14. The bill was returned to the Senate for approval and was passed on second reading on March 27, 2025.

Final update: SB 61 did not pass a third reading before the end of the legislative session. According to the Speaker of the House’s Office, it could be reintroduced next session.

Maine LD 283

This bill in the Maine State Legislature would redirect 1% of meals and lodging sales tax revenue to municipalities. In an email to members, the Vacation Rental Professionals of Maine described the legislation as a “de facto sales tax without local input.” The group said LD 283 would siphon revenue away from tourism marketing, “weakening Maine’s ability to attract visitors” during a time when tourism has dropped 9%.

The bill would also allow government agencies to bypass direct community input, “setting a precedent for future tax increases,” the alliance wrote.

Final update: LD 283 was voted down in the Committee on Taxation on March 11, 2025.

Missouri HB 1086

House Bill 1086 would classify short-term rentals as residential real property under state law. The bill was proposed by the Missouri Vacation Home Alliance in response to some county assessors arbitrarily reclassifying vacation home rentals as commercial because of a loophole in the tax code.

Tyann Marcink Hammond, President of the MOVHA board and Owner of Branson Family Retreats, said one of her vacation home rental property tax bills rose from $4,380 in 2022 to $10,680 in 2023 because of such an arbitrary reclassification to commercial. 

“The use hasn’t changed when a home is occupied for short periods of time instead of long periods,” she said during a testimony on the bill on Feb. 13, 2025. “Yet some county tax assessors feel that a vacation rental should be classified as commercial use. The business aspect of a vacation home rental is not at the property. The same as a long-term rental, the business aspects of marketing, accounting, and customer service do not happen at the property but at an office.”

The House of Representatives passed the bill 118-34 on March 6, 2025, and the bill unanimously passed a Senate committee hearing on May 1, 2025.

Final update: HB 1086 came close to materializing this year but didn’t make it over the finish line. The bill stalled in the final days of the 2025 legislative session due to unrelated political drama.

MOVHA already has a strategy to reintroduce the bill in the next session, which begins in January 2026. In the meantime, the group is working locally to mitigate the fallout. Kansas City, a 2026 FIFA World Cup host city, recently approved a postponement of commercial tax reclassification thanks to advocacy from Susan Brown, MOVHA Vice President and President of the Kansas City Short-Term Rental Alliance.

New Mexico HM 52

House Memorial 52 would establish a Short-Term Rental Work Group and require the Economic Development Department, the Tourism Department, and the Taxation and Revenue Department to collaboratively study STR economic contributions, workforce housing solutions, and taxation policies. By Dec. 1, 2025, the work group will be expected to present their findings and policy recommendations to state lawmakers.

The bill also would require county assessors to suspend reclassifying short-term rentals from residential to commercial until the study is completed, preventing steep tax hikes that might later need to be reversed. Some New Mexico county assessors have begun reclassifying short-term rentals to commercial, removing the 3% annual property value cap that protects homeowners from drastic increases. Commercial property tax rates could destabilize homeowners “who rely on short-term rental income to meet mortgages, property taxes, and upkeep costs,” according to the New Mexico Short-Term Rental Association.

“This [bill]  is a significant first step toward safeguarding short-term rentals in New Mexico and ensuring a fair and balanced approach to our industry,” NMSTRA wrote in an alert to members.

The House passed the Memorial 63-0 on March 22 and did not require Senate approval to move forward.
Final update: Members of the work group were appointed and will be required to report findings and policy recommendations to the appropriate interim legislative committees by Dec. 1, 2025.

Ohio SB 104 and HB 109

Two identical bills in Ohio’s House and Senate would prohibit local jurisdictions from banning short-term rentals.

Sen. Andrew Brenner, a licensed real estate agent, reintroduced the legislation from the last session, according to a report by Journal-News.

SB 104 and its twin, HB 109, sponsored by Rep. Justin Pizzulli,

The bills would prohibit local governments from adopting ordinances that would:

•  Ban or cap short-term rentals in residential zones;
• Provide STR permits based on a lottery system;
• Restrict the number of STR properties one person can operate;
• Require owners to occupy short-term rental properties.

The bills permit local jurisdictions to require STR licenses and adopt ordinances to regulate health and safety. They also expand lodging taxes to short-term rentals.

Lodging tax revenues “may increase from $121 million to $150 million annually due to the bill’s mandatory extension of the tax to short-term rental properties rather than just hotels,” according to an LSC fiscal analysis.

“It generates extra revenues for homeowners who may be having a hard time paying their property taxes, given the high level of property taxes that we see today,” Sen. Brenner said in a quote to Journal-News. “So I think that’s another reason why we need to allow short-term rentals to continue in the state of Ohio.”

If enacted into law, the legislation would overturn a ban on short-term rentals in residential neighborhoods in Richmond Heights.
SB 104 was assigned to the Senate Local Government Committee, which has held three hearings but no votes on the legislation. The last hearing was on May 28, 2025. HB 109 was assigned to the House Development Committee. The House Committee on Development held a hearing on March 26, 2025, but has not acted on the bill. The Ohio Legislature remains in session until December.

Vermont H.242

H.242 in the Vermont State Legislature proposes to redefine short-term rentals and restrict STR activity to owner-occupied properties.

“This proposal would put 100% of Vermont vacation rental managers (aka thousands of Vermonters) out of work and cost the state hundreds of millions in tax revenue and visitor spending,” Julie Marks wrote in an alert to members of the Vermont Short-Term Rental Alliance.

One VSTRA member said they hoped the bill would be “dead on arrival,” given that vacation rentals contribute $460 million annually to the state’s GDP, support 6,000 jobs, spur $650 million in visitor spending each year, and generate $54 million a year in Meals & Rooms tax revenue.

“Most likely, we will not see legislators consider this proposal this session, but it will remain viable to be considered by the same legislative committee next session,” Julie said. “Actions like these demonstrate that our legislators continue to undervalue vacation rental tourism in our state. Short-term rentals provide over 60% of our visitor capacity while only occupying 3% of our housing stock. Our work is far from over.”

Final update: The bill was assigned to the Committee on General and Housing on Feb. 18, 2025, but was not acted upon before the end of the legislative session on May 9, 2025.

Washington SB 5576

SB 5576 in the Washington State Legislature would replace the statewide short-term rental tax with an optional local excise tax on the sale of lodging of short-term rentals through a short-term rental platform at a rate of up to 4% to use for affordable housing programs. It also would require a county or city imposing the tax to publish an annual report detailing how tax revenues were spent in the prior year.

The original proposal would have levied a 6% excise tax. However, the bill was amended to 4% on Feb. 27, 2025, after a public hearing on Feb. 25, where STR operators spoke about how the tax would impact them.

Before the hearing, the Washington Hosts Collaborative Alliance urged members to speak to lawmakers “about how this tax would harm small business owners, homeowners, and the local economy.

“Many STR operators share their homes to help cover costs, and the majority of guests are Washington residents who would also feel the impact of this tax,” the alliance noted in an alert to members.

The Senate approved the bill 27-21 on March 11. The House Committee on Finance approved the bill with amendments on March 27, 2025. The bill will now proceed to the full House of Representatives for a vote.

Final update: The session ended on April 27, 2025, without final approval for the bill.

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