CREATE Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 650 To assist entrepreneurs, support development of the creative economy, and encourage international cultural exchange, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 5, 2019 Mr. UDALL introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To assist entrepreneurs, support development of the creative economy, and encourage international cultural exchange, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Comprehensive Resources for Entrepreneurs in the Arts 5 to Transform the Economy Act of 2019’’ or the ‘‘CRE- 6 ATE Act of 2019’’. 7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 8 this Act is as follows: 9 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:05 Mar 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S650.IS S650 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 650 IS TITLE I—SUPPORT FOR ARTISTS AND ENTREPRENEURS Sec. 101. Microloan program expansion. Sec. 102. SBA business loans for the creative economy. Sec. 103. SBA technical assistance programs. Sec. 104. Arts-focused economic development. Sec. 105. Arts-focused rural development. Sec. 106. International participation in the arts. Sec. 107. Disaster support for artists through FEMA. TITLE II—CREATIVE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT Sec. 201. Artist Corps. Sec. 202. Demonstration program on support of local programs that promote creative and performance arts in local economic planning. Sec. 203. Creative placemaking activities under the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974. TITLE I—SUPPORT FOR ARTISTS 1 AND ENTREPRENEURS 2 SEC. 101. MICROLOAN PROGRAM EXPANSION. 3 Section 7(m)(6) of the Small Business Act (15 4 U.S.C. 636(m)(6)) is amended by adding at the end the 5 following: 6 ‘‘(F) LOAN CRITERIA FOR ARTISTS AND 7 ARTS ENTREPRENEURS.—The Administration, 8 in consultation with eligible intermediaries, 9 shall develop loan criteria to ensure that small 10 business concerns owned and controlled by art- 11 ists and small business concerns that support 12 the creative economy receive loan proceeds 13 under this subsection.’’. 14 SEC. 102. SBA BUSINESS LOANS FOR THE CREATIVE ECON- 15 OMY. 16 Section 7(a) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 17 636(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 18 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:05 Mar 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S650.IS S650 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 650 IS ‘‘(36) CREATIVE ECONOMY.—In providing as- 1 sistance under this subsection, the Administration 2 shall develop procedures to evaluate the business 3 proposals and business plans of small business con- 4 cerns that focus on economic development, job cre- 5 ation, and community growth with respect to the 6 creative economy.’’. 7 SEC. 103. SBA TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS. 8 Section 21 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648) 9 is amended by adding at the end the following: 10 ‘‘(o) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS FOR ART- 11 ISTS AND ARTS ENTREPRENEURS.—The Administration, 12 in consultation with relevant stakeholders, shall develop 13 technical assistance programs to be carried out by small 14 business development centers under this subsection that 15 target the specific needs of artists and arts entre- 16 preneurs.’’. 17 SEC. 104. ARTS-FOCUSED ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. 18 Title II of the Public Works and Economic Develop- 19 ment Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3141 et seq.) is amended 20 by adding at the end the following: 21 ‘‘SEC. 219. ARTS-FOCUSED ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. 22 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:05 Mar 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S650.IS S650 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 650 IS ‘‘(1) BUSINESS INCUBATION PROGRAM.—The 1 term ‘business incubation program’ means a pro- 2 gram that— 3 ‘‘(A) accelerates the successful develop- 4 ment of entrepreneurial businesses through 5 business support resources and services, devel- 6 oped or orchestrated by incubator management; 7 ‘‘(B) is designed to produce successful 8 businesses; and 9 ‘‘(C) provides management guidance, tech- 10 nical assistance, and consulting designed for 11 young, growing businesses, including by pro- 12 viding— 13 ‘‘(i) rental space and flexible leases; 14 ‘‘(ii) shared basic business services 15 and equipment; 16 ‘‘(iii) technology support services; and 17 ‘‘(iv) assistance in obtaining financing 18 necessary for growth of the business. 19 ‘‘(2) INCUBATOR.—The term ‘incubator’ means 20 a multitenant facility with on-site management that 21 directs a business incubation program. 22 ‘‘(b) ARTS-FOCUSED ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.—In 23 providing grants and assistance under this Act (including 24 through the local technical assistance, partnership plan- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:05 Mar 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S650.IS S650 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 650 IS ning, and comprehensive economic development strategies 1 programs of the Economic Development Administration), 2 the Secretary shall provide to artists and the creative 3 economy support through traditional economic develop- 4 ment tools, including— 5 ‘‘(1) incubators; and 6 ‘‘(2) economic development planning and tech- 7 nical assistance.’’. 8 SEC. 105. ARTS-FOCUSED RURAL DEVELOPMENT. 9 The Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act 10 (7 U.S.C. 1921 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 11 the following: 12 ‘‘Subtitle I—Arts-Focused 13 Economic Development 14 ‘‘SEC. 385. ARTS-FOCUSED ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. 15 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 16 ‘‘(1) BUSINESS INCUBATION PROGRAM.—The 17 term ‘business incubation program’ means a pro- 18 gram that— 19 ‘‘(A) accelerates the successful develop- 20 ment of entrepreneurial businesses through 21 business support resources and services, devel- 22 oped or orchestrated by incubator management; 23 ‘‘(B) is designed to produce successful 24 businesses; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:05 Mar 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S650.IS S650 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 650 IS ‘‘(C) provides management guidance, tech- 1 nical assistance, and consulting designed for 2 young, growing businesses, including by pro- 3 viding— 4 ‘‘(i) rental space and flexible leases; 5 ‘‘(ii) shared basic business services 6 and equipment; 7 ‘‘(iii) technology support services; and 8 ‘‘(iv) assistance in obtaining financing 9 necessary for growth of the business. 10 ‘‘(2) INCUBATOR.—The term ‘incubator’ means 11 a multitenant facility with on-site management that 12 directs a business incubation program. 13 ‘‘(b) ARTS-FOCUSED ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.—In 14 providing grants and assistance under this Act (including 15 through the local technical assistance, partnership plan- 16 ning, and comprehensive economic development strategies 17 programs of the Office of Rural Development), the Sec- 18 retary, acting through the Assistant to the Secretary for 19 Rural Development, shall provide to artists and the cre- 20 ative economy support through traditional economic devel- 21 opment tools, including— 22 ‘‘(1) incubators; and 23 ‘‘(2) economic development planning and tech- 24 nical assistance.’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:05 Mar 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S650.IS S650 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 650 IS SEC. 106. INTERNATIONAL PARTICIPATION IN THE ARTS. 1 Section 214(c)(6)(D) of the Immigration and Nation- 2 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(c)(6)(D)) is amended— 3 (1) in the first sentence, by inserting ‘‘(i)’’ be- 4 fore ‘‘Any person’’; 5 (2) in the second sentence— 6 (A) by striking ‘‘Once’’ and inserting ‘‘Ex- 7 cept as provided in clause (ii), once’’; and 8 (B) by striking ‘‘Attorney General shall’’ 9 and inserting ‘‘Secretary of Homeland Security 10 shall’’; 11 (3) in the third sentence, by striking ‘‘The At- 12 torney General’’ and inserting ‘‘The Secretary’’; and 13 (4) by adding at the end the following: 14 ‘‘(ii) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall adju- 15 dicate each petition for an alien with extraordinary ability 16 in the arts (as described in section 101(a)(15)(O)(i)), an 17 alien accompanying such an alien (as described in section 18 101(a)(15)(O)(ii)), or an alien described in section 19 101(a)(15)(P) (other than an alien described in section 20 214(c)(4)(A) (relating to athletes)) not later than 14 days 21 after— 22 ‘‘(I) the date on which the petitioner submits 23 the petition with a written advisory opinion, letter of 24 no objection, or request for a waiver; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:05 Mar 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S650.IS S650 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 650 IS ‘‘(II) the date on which the 15-day period de- 1 scribed in clause (i) has expired, if the petitioner has 2 had an opportunity to supply rebuttal evidence. 3 ‘‘(iii) If a petition described in clause (ii) is not adju- 4 dicated by the end of the 14-day period described in clause 5 (ii) and the petitioner is an arts organization described 6 in paragraph (3), (5), or (6) of section 501(c) of the Inter- 7 nal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under 8 section 501(a) of such Code for the taxable year preceding 9 the calendar year in which the petition is submitted, or 10 an individual or entity petitioning primarily on behalf of 11 such an organization, the Secretary of Homeland Security 12 shall provide the petitioner with the premium-processing 13 services referred to in section 286(u), without a fee.’’. 14 SEC. 107. DISASTER SUPPORT FOR ARTISTS THROUGH 15 FEMA. 16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President, acting through the 17 Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management 18 Agency, shall promulgate rules to ensure that expenses in- 19 curred, as a result of a major disaster or emergency, by 20 a self-employed or freelance worker to repair or replace 21 tools, specialized or protective clothing, and equipment re- 22 quired by the self-employed or freelance worker are consid- 23 ered eligible expenses for assistance under section 408 of 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:05 Mar 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S650.IS S650 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 650 IS the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency As- 1 sistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5174). 2 (b) LIMITATIONS.—The rules promulgated under 3 subsection (a)— 4 (1) may not require, as a condition of receiving 5 such assistance under section 408 of the Robert T. 6 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 7 Act (42 U.S.C. 5174), an applicant— 8 (A) to apply or be declined for assistance 9 from the Small Business Administration; or 10 (B) to demonstrate that assistance received 11 from the Small Business Administration does 12 not satisfy the total necessary expenses or seri- 13 ous needs arising out of a major disaster or 14 emergency; and 15 (2) shall provide that an applicant may not re- 16 ceive assistance from the Small Business Adminis- 17 tration and under section 408 of the Robert T. Staf- 18 ford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 19 (42 U.S.C. 5174) for the same item. 20 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:05 Mar 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S650.IS S650 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 650 IS TITLE II—CREATIVE 1 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT 2 SEC. 201. ARTIST CORPS. 3 (a) CORPS.—Section 122(a) of the National and 4 Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12572(a)) is 5 amended by adding at the end the following: 6 ‘‘(6) ARTIST CORPS.— 7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The recipient may 8 carry out national service programs through an 9 Artist Corps that identifies and meets unmet 10 needs within communities through artistic ac- 11 tivities such as those described in subparagraph 12 (B) and improves performance on the indicators 13 described in subparagraph (C). 14 ‘‘(B) ACTIVITIES.—An Artist Corps de- 15 scribed in this paragraph may carry out activi- 16 ties such as— 17 ‘‘(i) providing skilled visual and per- 18 formance artists to address community 19 needs through artistic activities in edu- 20 cation, health care, and therapeutic set- 21 tings, and in other settings in the commu- 22 nity; or 23 ‘‘(ii) providing other artistic activities, 24 addressing unmet community needs, that 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:05 Mar 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S650.IS S650 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •S 650 IS the Corporation may designate, such as 1 providing technical assistance for grant 2 writing, marketing, and financial planning 3 for artistic initiatives. 4 ‘‘(C) ARTIST CORPS INDICATORS.—The in- 5 dicators for a corps program described in this 6 paragraph are— 7 ‘‘(i) any indicator relating to meeting 8 critical needs that the Corporation estab- 9 lishes; or 10 ‘‘(ii) any local indicator (applicable to 11 a particular recipient or community and on 12 which an improvement in performance is 13 needed) relating to meeting critical needs, 14 that is approved by the Corporation or a 15 State Commission.’’. 16 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 122 of 17 such Act is amended— 18 (1) in subsection (b)(3), by striking ‘‘or (5)’’ 19 and inserting ‘‘(5), or (6)’’; and 20 (2) in subsection (c)(1), in the matter preceding 21 subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘through (5)’’ and in- 22 serting ‘‘through (6)’’. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:05 Mar 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S650.IS S650 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •S 650 IS SEC. 202. DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM ON SUPPORT OF 1 LOCAL PROGRAMS THAT PROMOTE CRE- 2 ATIVE AND PERFORMANCE ARTS IN LOCAL 3 ECONOMIC PLANNING. 4 (a) DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM REQUIRED.—The 5 Secretary of Commerce shall establish a demonstration 6 program to assess the feasibility and advisability of pro- 7 viding support to covered programs to promote creative 8 and performing arts in the economic planning of local gov- 9 ernments. 10 (b) COVERED PROGRAMS.—For purposes of the dem- 11 onstration program required by subsection (a), a covered 12 program is any program that— 13 (1) was in effect on the day before the date of 14 the enactment of this Act; and 15 (2) the Secretary of Commerce considers part 16 of an art community. 17 SEC. 203. CREATIVE PLACEMAKING ACTIVITIES UNDER 18 THE HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOP- 19 MENT ACT OF 1974. 20 Title I of the Housing and Community Development 21 Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.) is amended— 22 (1) in section 102(a) (42 U.S [Text truncated for display. 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