State Sen. José Rodríguez and Rep. Naomi Gonzalez, both D-El Paso, have agreed to write the legislat

The area's premier sporting event, which will mark its 80th anniversary in December, is working with state lawmakers to draft a proposal that would allow the Sun Bowl to levy up to a 9 percent tax on rental cars. The bowl game already collects car rental lowest price a 5 percent tax on rental cars that voters approved in 1997.
The Sun Bowl Association did not provide data on how much revenue the tax increase would generate. The organization also did not say how much money the current tax rate provides, except to point out that it was in the millions of dollars.
Voters have to approve the measure, which would put total taxes on a rental car from state and local sources at close to 36 percent, though it can vary widely depending on the length of a rental and a car's features.
State Sen. José Rodríguez and Rep. Naomi Gonzalez, both D-El Paso, have agreed to write the legislation, which is still in draft form. They have until Friday to file the bill, and it is expected to mandate that 1 percent of the revenue generated from the tax go to the University of Texas at El Paso to maintain and upgrade Sun Bowl Stadium.
car rental lowest price "This is really about keeping the bowl going forward without taxing the citizens of El Paso," said Sun Bowl football selection chairman John Folmer. "To continue to be a great game and continue to put El Paso on the national stage, we need to keep up with other bowl games. We don't want to turn into an early December bowl game with non-major teams and an empty stadium."
The El Paso Hotel and Motel Association has not seen a copy of the proposed bill, but opposes it. The organization argued that raising taxes will hurt local business and consumers even if there is a more competitive Sun Bowl.
El Paso Budget Rental Car general manager Neal Remz said many local residents also rent cars because about 20 percent of rental cars in the area are picked up at locations outside of the airport. He also said that a lot of El Pasoans rent from the airport, too, because of longer hours and that higher tax rates could discourage travelers and possibly conventions.
The Sun Bowl now ranks 15th in total payout among the 35 college football bowl games. It trails newer games such as the Russell Athletic Bowl in Orlando, Fla., the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl in Tempe, Ariz., and Alamo Bowl in San Antonio.
Last year, the game had a team with a losing record -- Georgia Tech -- that contributed to continuing a trend of dropping attendance, fewer hotel rooms purchased and reduced economic impact the past two years. In 2009 and 2010, the Sun Bowl had record years, generating as much as $24 million.
"It's not a good pattern," city Rep. Steve Ortega said. "This community, this economy needs the Sun Bowl to be relevant on a national stage. It's the second-oldest bowl in the country and a showcase for El Paso."
The Sun Bowl also faces a looming deadline. The game's car rental lowest price contract to match teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference with the Pac-12 Conference -- both considered major multibillion-dollar conferences with highly competitive, recognizable teams -- ends after 2013.
That means the Sun Bowl will have to sell itself car rental lowest price and El Paso to draw big, or bigger, conferences and teams. Things like increased payouts or perhaps more amenities like skyboxes for the university presidents would help, Folmer said.
"The Sun Bowl Association is trying to put the event, one of the oldest in the nation, in a better position to succeed in the increasingly competitive world of college football bowl games," Rodríguez said in a statement. "This bill would allow the community to vote on whether to provide another option that can be used to support the event."
The changing landscape of college football also complicates matters for the Sun Bowl. There will be a playoff system in 2014 that uses six sites for semifinals and a championship. The Sun Bowl is not included, so it will be left competing with other big-name and well-funded bowls to stay relevant and attract big-name teams and conferences.
"We're going to have to compete against newer venues with all kinds of amenities," car rental lowest price Folmer said. "We think this extra money can help us keep up with the rest of the country and continue to maintain our place in the bowl system."
State Rep. Joe Pickett, D-El Paso, had not seen the proposed legislation yet and wanted more data. He cautioned that while supporting car rental lowest price in Sun Bowl is necessary, the city does not want to hurt other businesses in the process.
"The Sun Bowl is fantastic and it's a great way to get our community out in the national presence and I don't want it to go away," Pickett said. "But it's once a year. What we don't want to do is make our tax rates so high that we drive other conventions or visitors out to other cities in the state and lose that revenue."
City Rep. Cortney Niland gave a gasp when she heard that the Sun Bowl wanted to nearly double its tax rate on car rentals. She said UTEP President Diana Natalicio had come to her last year and wanted $60 million for Sun Bowl Stadium improvements to be put on the quality-of-life car rental lowest price bonds.
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