HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 5194        FILED ON: 7/20/2020

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No.         

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Smitty Pignatelli and John Barrett, III

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act establishing a COVID-19 nonprofit cultural organizations emergency relief fund.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 5194        FILED ON: 7/20/2020

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No.         

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-First General Court
(2019-2020)

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An Act establishing a COVID-19 nonprofit cultural organizations emergency relief fund.

Whereas, The deferred operation of this act would tend to defeat its purpose, which is to provide forthwith for relief to nonprofit cultural organizations during the COVID-19 outbreak in the Commonwealth, therefore it is hereby declared to be an emergency law, necessary for the immediate preservation of the public convenience.
 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

        SECTION 1. (a) There shall be established and set upon the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the COVID-19 Nonprofit Cultural Organizations Emergency Relief Fund to be administered by the executive office of labor and workforce development.

(b) The purpose of the Fund shall be for financial assistance in the form of grants to nonprofit cultural organizations within the commonwealth that are experiencing financial distress as a result of the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak, also known as COVID-19, or executive order 591 and any subsequent orders pursuant to said executive order.

(c) There shall be credited to the Fund all amounts that are, by law, transferred or authorized to be transferred thereto or directed to be deposited therein, and all amounts received as gifts, grants, or contributions for the purposes of the Fund. Amounts credited to the Fund shall not be subject to further appropriation and any money remaining in the Fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not revert to the General Fund.

SECTION 2. On the effective date of this act, the comptroller shall transfer $75,000,000 from the Commonwealth Stabilization Fund to the COVID-19 Nonprofit Cultural Organizations Emergency Relief Fund established in section 1 for the purposes of carrying out this act.