SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2105        FILED ON: 2/19/2021

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2246

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Edward J. Kennedy

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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 to rebuild the Commonwealth’s cultural future.

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PETITION OF:

SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2105        FILED ON: 2/19/2021

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2246

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Second General Court
(2021-2022)

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An Act to rebuild the Commonwealth’s cultural future.

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. There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund, to be known as the Massachusetts Cultural Economy COVID-19 Recovery Fund, to be administered by the Massachusetts cultural council for the purposes of assisting cultural organizations recover from 2019 novel coronavirus pandemic.

As a means of providing available assets for the fund, a percentage but no less than $200,000,000 of eligible funds received by the commonwealth as part of State and Local aid from Federal COVID-19 recovery funds received after January 1, 2021 shall be paid over to and become part of the fund. 

In addition to the funds referenced above, the fund shall also include (i) income derived from the investment of any amounts credited to the fund; and (ii) all other monies credited to or transferred to the fund from any other fund or source. The comptroller may certify amounts for payment in anticipation of expected receipts; provided, however, that no expenditure shall be made from the fund that shall cause the fund to be deficient at the close of a fiscal year. Amounts credited to the fund shall be available for expenditure, without further appropriation, by the Massachusetts cultural council, and any money remaining in the fund shall not revert to the general fund and may be used in subsequent fiscal years for investments including, but not limited to the reopening and recovery of the arts and cultural sector. Massachusetts cultural council shall be entitled to draw upon the fund for necessary reasonable administrative and operational expenses at a rate of no more than seven percent of said fund.

The purpose of the fund shall be financial assistance in the form of grants to nonprofit and for-profit cultural organizations that promote excellence, access and diversity in the arts, humanities, and interpretive sciences, creative workers, and artists within the commonwealth that have experienced significant economic hardship and financial loss due to the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak, also known as COVID-19, or the declaration of emergency and any subsequent orders pursuant to said declaration.

Use of the grant funds may include (i): Employee payroll and benefit costs, mortgage interest, rent, utilities and interest on other debt obligations. (ii): costs associated with programmatic adaptation due to the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak, also known as COVID-19. (iii): technology and infrastructure costs for safe reopening.

SECTION 2. Massachusetts cultural council shall be responsible for administering the grant program for the above purpose. The distribution of grants from the fund shall consider racial diversity and equity, geographic diversity, and programmatic diversity within the cultural sector. Grant awards shall prioritize economic need of recipients due to the pandemic as well as recipient’s economic impact in terms of job creation and tourism spending prior to the pandemic.

SECTION 3. Massachusetts cultural council shall submit an annual report to the secretary of administration and finance, the house and senate committees on ways and means, and the joint committee on tourism, arts and cultural development no later than December 31 detailing the expenditure of the funds, including the amount of assistance provided to qualified organizations and a list of grant recipients. Said report shall also include the unexpended balance of the fund.

This report shall be considered a public record.