Letter in Opposition to the Lockheed Martin Bills (HB 815 and SB 631)
March 28, 2013 The Lockheed Martin conference and training center is clearly the sole beneficiary of this legislation, given that it is the only applicable entity that might fit the exemption language. It is equally apparent that the Lockheed Martin conference and training center competes with area hotels, which is where Lockheed contractors, employees, and visitors would otherwise stay had the center not been constructed. Under any definition of a hotel, in light of particular instances of Lockheed charging visitors to stay at the center as an alternative to lodging in local hotels, it is clear that the center provides a service that falls within the purview of the hotel tax, which is the subject of this proposed legislation. Lockheed must be held accountable to the same rules and standards that its competitors are held to; to do otherwise is to act against both local business interests and a basic understanding of fair play. Lockheed constructed the center...