Legal Question in Business Law in Oregon

Could be. There is an exemption to federal antitrust law for actions taken by government pursuant to a state-level definite policy. But spending local motel tax money might not qualify for that exception. It would be a fairly complicated case. Were I you, I would start by making requests for information to the City, under the Public Records Act, for all documents, recordings, emails, notes, etc., pertaining to the selection of projects upon which the tax money is spent. You may find interesting connections there.

Perhaps a more powerful path would be under Article XI, Section 9, or the Oregon Constitution, which states:Section 9. Limitations on powers of county or city to assist corporations. No county, city, town or other municipal corporation, by vote of its citizens, or otherwise, shall become a stockholder in any joint company, corporation or association, whatever, or raise money for, or loan its credit to, or in aid of, any such company, corporation or association. Provided, that any municipal corporation designated as a port under any general or special law of the state of Oregon, may be empowered by statute to raise money and expend the same in the form of a bonus to aid in establishing water transportation lines between such port and any other domestic or foreign port or ports, and to aid in establishing water transportation lines on the interior rivers of this state, or on the rivers between Washington and Oregon, or on the rivers of Washington and Idaho reached by navigation from Oregon�s rivers; any debts of a municipality to raise money created for the aforesaid purpose shall be incurred only on approval of a majority of those voting on the question, and shall not, either singly or in the aggregate, with previous debts and liabilities incurred for that purpose, exceed one per cent of the assessed valuation of all property in the municipality. [Constitution of 1859; Amendment proposed by S.J.R. 13, 1917, and adopted by the people June 4, 1917] What you are describing might violate the prohibition on a city "rais[ing] money for . . . any such company, corporation, or association." Of those, that conclusion would invalidate all of Oregon's similar programs of using taxes to support joint marketing programs, as for certain agricultural products and, in your case, tourism.