Minor League Baseball Relief Act

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2233 To establish a grant program for shuttered minor league baseball clubs, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 24, 2021 Mr. BLUMENTHAL (for himself, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. WARNER, and Mr. KAINE) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship A BILL To establish a grant program for shuttered minor league baseball clubs, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Minor League Baseball 4 Relief Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis- 8 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Small Busi- 9 ness Administration. 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:19 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2233.IS S2233 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2233 IS (2) COVERED GRANTS.—The term ‘‘covered 1 grant’’ means a grant made under this Act to an eli- 2 gible entity. 3 (3) COVERED LAW.—The term ‘‘covered law’’ 4 means— 5 (A) the Coronavirus Preparedness and Re- 6 sponse Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020 7 (Public Law 116–123); 8 (B) the Families First Coronavirus Re- 9 sponse Act (Public Law 116–127); 10 (C) the CARES Act (Public Law 116– 11 136); 12 (D) the Paycheck Protection Program and 13 Health Care Enhancement Act (Public Law 14 116–139; 134 Stat. 620); 15 (E) division M or N of the Consolidated 16 Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116– 17 260); or 18 (F) the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 19 (Public Law 117–2). 20 (4) COVERED MORTGAGE OBLIGATION; COV- 21 ERED RENT OBLIGATION; COVERED UTILITY PAY- 22 MENT; COVERED WORKER PROTECTION EXPENDI- 23 TURE.—The terms ‘‘covered mortgage obligation’’, 24 ‘‘covered rent obligation’’, ‘‘covered utility payment’’, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:19 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2233.IS S2233 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2233 IS and ‘‘covered worker protection expenditure’’ have 1 the meanings given those terms in section 7A(a) of 2 the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636m(a)). 3 (5) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti- 4 ty’’ means any Minor League Baseball Club or Inde- 5 pendent Professional Baseball Club that meets the 6 following requirements: 7 (A) The Minor League Baseball Club or 8 Independent Professional Baseball Club was op- 9 erating in the ordinary course of business on 10 February 29, 2020. 11 (B) The gross revenues of the Minor 12 League Baseball Club or Independent Profes- 13 sional Baseball Club in calendar year 2020 14 were not more than 25 percent of the gross rev- 15 enues of the Minor League Baseball Club or 16 Independent Professional Baseball Club in cal- 17 endar year 2019, or, if the gross revenues of 18 the Minor League Baseball Club or Inde- 19 pendent Professional Baseball Club were nega- 20 tively impacted by a natural disaster or weather 21 disruption in 2019, not more than 25 percent 22 of the average annual gross revenues of the 23 Minor League Baseball Club or Independent 24 Professional Baseball Club over the 3-year pe- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:19 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2233.IS S2233 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 2233 IS riod from 2016 through 2018, as determined by 1 the Administrator using the accrual method of 2 accounting and excluding any amounts received 3 any amounts received under the CARES Act 4 (15 U.S.C. 9001 et seq.), an amendment to 5 such Act, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 6 2021 (Public Law 116–260), or any subsequent 7 COVID Relief package. 8 (C) At the time the Minor League Baseball 9 Club or Independent Professional Baseball Club 10 submits the certification required under section 11 3(c), the Minor League Baseball Club or Inde- 12 pendent Professional Baseball Club is open, or 13 intends to reopen, for the primary purpose of 14 conducting baseball games. 15 (D) The Minor League Baseball Club or 16 Independent Professional Baseball Club is not 17 majority owned, directly or indirectly, by Major 18 League Baseball, a Major League Baseball 19 Club, or one or more persons who have a great- 20 er than 10 percent ownership interest in a 21 Major League Baseball Club. 22 (6) INDEPENDENT PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL 23 CLUB.—The term ‘‘Independent Professional Base- 24 ball Club’’ means a professional baseball team, in- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:19 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2233.IS S2233 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 2233 IS cluding a professional baseball team that is a cor- 1 poration, limited liability company, or a partnership 2 or operated as a sole proprietorship, that— 3 (A) operates for profit or as a nonprofit 4 organization; 5 (B) is located in the United States; and 6 (C) as of February 29, 2020, was a mem- 7 ber of— 8 (i) the American Association of Pro- 9 fessional Baseball; 10 (ii) the Atlantic League of Profes- 11 sional Baseball; 12 (iii) the Canadian American Associa- 13 tion of Professional Baseball; 14 (iv) the Empire Professional Baseball 15 League; 16 (v) the Frontier League; 17 (vi) the Pacific Association of Profes- 18 sional Baseball Clubs; 19 (vii) the Pecos League of Professional 20 Baseball Clubs; 21 (viii) the United Shore Professional 22 Baseball League; or 23 (ix) the Western League. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:19 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2233.IS S2233 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 2233 IS (7) MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL CLUB.—The 1 term ‘‘Minor League Baseball Club’’ means a profes- 2 sional baseball team, including a professional base- 3 ball team that is a corporation, limited liability com- 4 pany, or a partnership or operated as a sole propri- 5 etorship, that— 6 (A) operates for profit or as a nonprofit 7 organization; 8 (B) is located in the United States; and 9 (C)(i) as of February 29, 2020, was a 10 member of a league that was a member of the 11 National Association of Professional Baseball 12 Leagues, Inc.; or 13 (ii) has been offered and is operating or 14 has agreed to operate under— 15 (I) a Player Development License 16 granted by MLB Professional Development 17 Leagues, LLC; or 18 (II) a license granted by Appalachian 19 League, Inc. 20 (8) PAYROLL COSTS.—The term ‘‘payroll costs’’ 21 has the meaning given the term in section 22 7(a)(36)(A) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 23 636(a)(36)). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:19 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2233.IS S2233 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 2233 IS SEC. 3. GRANTS FOR CERTAIN MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL 1 CLUBS. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall, subject 3 to the availability of appropriations, make covered grants 4 to eligible entities in accordance with this section. 5 (b) AUTHORITY.—The Associate Administrator for 6 the Office of Disaster Assistance of the Small Business 7 Administration shall coordinate and formulate policies re- 8 lating to the administration of covered grants. 9 (c) CERTIFICATION OF NEED.—An eligible entity ap- 10 plying for a covered grant shall submit a good faith certifi- 11 cation that the uncertainty of current economic conditions 12 makes necessary the grant to support the ongoing oper- 13 ations of the eligible entity. 14 (d) MULTIPLE BUSINESS ENTITIES.—The Adminis- 15 trator shall treat each eligible entity as an independent, 16 non-affiliated entity for the purposes of this section. 17 (e) GRANT TERMS.— 18 (1) NUMBER OF GRANTS.— 19 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 20 subparagraph (B), an eligible entity may receive 21 only 1 covered grant. 22 (B) SUPPLEMENTAL GRANT.—The Admin- 23 istrator may make a second covered grant to an 24 eligible entity if, as of June 30, 2021, the gross 25 revenues of such eligible entity for calendar 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:19 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2233.IS S2233 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 2233 IS year 2021 as of such date are not more than 1 30 percent of the gross revenues of such eligible 2 entity for the corresponding period of 2019, or, 3 if the gross revenues of the eligible entity were 4 negatively impacted by a natural disaster or 5 weather disruption in 2019, not more than 30 6 percent of the average gross revenues of the eli- 7 gible entity during the first 6 months of 2016, 8 2017, and 2018, due to the COVID–19 pan- 9 demic. 10 (2) AMOUNT.— 11 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 12 subparagraph (B), a covered grant shall be in 13 an amount equal to the lesser of— 14 (i) the amount equal to 45 percent of 15 the gross revenues of the eligible entity for 16 2019, or, if the gross revenues of the eligi- 17 ble entity were negatively impacted by a 18 natural disaster or weather disruption in 19 2019, equal to 45 percent of the average 20 annual gross revenues of the eligible entity 21 over the 3-year period from 2016 through 22 2018, which shall include the gross reve- 23 nues of all subsidiaries and other related 24 entities that are consolidated with the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:19 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2233.IS S2233 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 2233 IS gross revenues of the eligible entity in a fi- 1 nancial statement prepared in accordance 2 with generally accepted accounting prin- 3 ciples for such eligible entity for such year; 4 or 5 (ii) $10,000,000. 6 (B) SUPPLEMENT GRANT AMOUNT.—A 7 covered grant made pursuant to paragraph 8 (1)(B) shall be in an amount equal to 50 per- 9 cent of the first covered grant received by the 10 eligible entity. 11 (3) GRANT AGGREGATE MAXIMUM.—The total 12 amount of covered grants received by an eligible en- 13 tity may not exceed $10,000,000. 14 (4) USE OF FUNDS.— 15 (A) TIMING.— 16 (i) EXPENSES INCURRED.— 17 (I) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro- 18 vided in subclause (II), amounts re- 19 ceived under a covered grant may only 20 be used for expenses incurred during 21 the period beginning on March 1, 22 2020 and ending on December 31, 23 2021. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:19 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2233.IS S2233 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 2233 IS (II) EXTENSION FOR SUPPLE- 1 MENTAL GRANTS.—If an eligible enti- 2 ty receives a grant under paragraph 3 (1)(B), amounts received under a cov- 4 ered grant may be used for costs in- 5 curred during the period beginning on 6 March 1, 2020 and ending September 7 30, 2022. 8 (ii) EXPENDITURE.— 9 (I) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro- 10 vided in subclause (II), an eligible en- 11 tity shall return to the Administrator 12 any amounts received under a covered 13 grant that are not expended on or be- 14 fore the date that is 1 year after the 15 date of disbursement of the covered 16 grant. 17 (II) EXTENSION FOR SUPPLE- 18 MENTAL GRANTS.—If an eligible enti- 19 ty receives a grant under paragraph 20 (1)(B), the eligible entity shall return 21 to the Administrator any amounts re- 22 ceived under any covered grant that 23 are not expended on or before the 24 date that is 18 months after the date 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:19 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2233.IS S2233 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 2233 IS of disbursement of the first covered 1 grant received by the eligible entity. 2 (B) ALLOWABLE EXPENSES.—An eligible 3 entity may use amounts received under a cov- 4 ered grant for— 5 (i) payroll costs; 6 (ii) payments on any covered rent ob- 7 ligation or other obligation to a public enti- 8 ty from whom the primary venue of the eli- 9 gible entity is leased or licensed; 10 (iii) any covered utility payment; 11 (iv) payments of interest or principal 12 due on any covered mortgage obligation; 13 (v) payments of interest or principal 14 due on any indebtedness or debt instru- 15 ment incurred in the ordinary course of 16 business that is a liability of the eligible 17 entity and was in place or incurred prior to 18 February 15, 2020; 19 (vi) covered worker protection expend- 20 itures; 21 (vii) payments made to independent 22 contractors, as reported on Form-1099 23 MISC, not to exceed a total of $100,000 in 24 annual compensation for any individual 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:19 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2233.IS S2233 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 2233 IS employee of an independent contractor; 1 and 2 (viii) other ordinary and necessary 3 business expenses, including— 4 (I) maintenance expenses; 5 (II) administrative costs, includ- 6 ing fees and licensing costs; 7 (III) State and local taxes and 8 fees; 9 (IV) operating leases in effect as 10 of February 15, 2020; 11 (V) payments required for insur- 12 ance on any insurance policy; 13 (VI) settling existing debts with 14 vendors; and 15 (VII) advertising, production, 16 transportation, and capital expendi- 17 tures relating to the primary venue of 18 the eligible entity or events held at 19 such venue, except that a grant under 20 this section may not be used primarily 21 for such expenditures. 22 (C) PROHIBITED EXPENSES.—An eligible 23 entity may not use amounts received under a 24 grant under this section— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:19 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2233.IS S2233 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 •S 2233 IS (i) to purchase real estate; 1 (ii) for payments of interest or prin- 2 cipal for loans originated after February 3 15, 2020; 4 (iii) to invest or re-lend funds; 5 (iv) for contributions or expenditures 6 to, or on behalf of, any political party, 7 party committee or candidate for elective 8 office; or 9 (v) for any other use as may be rea- 10 sonably prohibited by the Administrator. 11 (f) INCREASED OVERSIGHT.—The Administrator 12 shall increase oversight of eligible entities receiving cov- 13 ered grants, which may include the following: 14 (1) DOCUMENTATION.—Additional documenta- 15 tion requirements that are consistent with the eligi- 16 bility and other requirements under this section, in- 17 cluding requiring an eligible entity that receives a 18 grant under this section to retain records that docu- 19 ment compliance with the requirements for grants 20 under this section— 21 (A) with respect to employment records, 22 for the 4-year period following receipt of the 23 grant; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:19 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S22 [Text truncated for display. 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