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County financial experts estimate the tax would bring the county about $800,000 a year.

Commissioners Court is scheduled to consider the proposal when it meets this afternoon. If passed, the tax would become effective immediately.

Although the county already has a hotel -occupancy tax in Houston and other incorporated parts of the county, it has no such tax on hotels outside the municipalities.

State law dictates where such taxes can be imposed and how much the county can levy. Inside Houston, for example, the maximum hotel -occupancy tax is 15 percent - 6 percent for the state, 7 percent for the city and 2 percent for the county. In other cities, such as Pasadena or Baytown, the maximum tax also is 15 percent - 6 percent for the state, varying amounts for the different cities and the county taking up the rest.

But hotels in unincorporated Harris County with no municipal governments to tax them have fared better on taxation. Although the state still gets its 6 percent share, the county so far has chosen not to take its bite.

The money from the new tax will be pooled with revenue from hotel -occupancy taxes from other jurisdictions. That money is earmarked for promoting tourism-related projects. One of the larger expenditures is retiring bonds that were used to finance Astrodome improvements in 1987 and 1988.

County Judge Robert Eckels and Terry Thornton, Harris County's debt manager, said there has been no opposition from the hotel industry so far. Because all other hotels in Harris County already are taxed at the 15 percent rate, they said, there appears to be no fear of driving off guests.

The issue arises now primarily because Commissioners Court also is expected to order the sale of new bonds to pay for the refinancing and restructuring of existing bond debt from the 1987 and 1988 Astrodome improvements.

Financial advisers have said the refinancing will save county taxpayers at least $5.7 million and free up $25 million to $40 million for a future bond issue to finance improvements at the Astrohall and AstroArena, all without requiring a property-tax increase.

Eckels said Monday he had not discussed the hotel tax increase with other Commissioners Court members.

"I'm for it. It has been something that has been discussed as something we would do at some point anyway," he said. "We need those funds for the Astrodome complex. This is an equalization of the (hotel ) tax throughout Harris County. This is not a broad-based tax upon the community."