SOS Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4258 To establish a grant program for small live venue operators and talent representatives. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JULY 22, 2020 Mr. CORNYN (for himself and Ms. KLOBUCHAR) 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 small live venue operators and talent representatives. 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 ‘‘Save our Stages Act’’ 4 or the ‘‘SOS Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. GRANTS FOR INDEPENDENT LIVE VENUE OPERA- 6 TORS. 7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 Aug 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4258.IS S4258 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 4258 IS (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis- 1 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Small Busi- 2 ness Administration. 3 (2) ELIGIBLE OPERATOR, PROMOTER, PRO- 4 DUCER, OR TALENT REPRESENTATIVE.— 5 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘eligible op- 6 erator, promoter, producer, or talent represent- 7 ative’’ means a live venue operator or producer 8 or promoter or a talent representative that 9 meets the following requirements: 10 (i) The live venue operator or pro- 11 ducer or promoter or the talent representa- 12 tive was fully operational as a live venue 13 operator or producer or promoter or talent 14 representative on February 29, 2020. 15 (ii) As of the date of the grant under 16 this section— 17 (I) the live venue operator or 18 producer or promoter is organizing, 19 promoting, producing, managing, or 20 hosting future events described in 21 paragraph (4)(A)(i); or 22 (II) the talent representative is 23 representing or managing artists and 24 entertainers. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 Aug 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4258.IS S4258 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 4258 IS (iii) The venues at which the live 1 venue operator or producer or promoter 2 promotes, produces, manages, or hosts 3 events described in paragraph (4)(A)(i) or 4 the artists and entertainers represented or 5 managed by the talent representative per- 6 form have the following characteristics: 7 (I) A defined performance and 8 audience space. 9 (II) A mixing desk, public ad- 10 dress system, and lighting rig. 11 (III) Employs not less than two 12 of the following: 13 (aa) A sound engineer. 14 (bb) A booker. 15 (cc) A promoter. 16 (dd) A stage manager. 17 (ee) Security personnel. 18 (ff) A box office manager. 19 (IV) There is a paid ticket or 20 cover charge to attend most perform- 21 ances and artists are paid fairly and 22 do not play for free or solely for tips, 23 except for legitimate fundraisers or 24 similar charitable events. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 Aug 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4258.IS S4258 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 4258 IS (V) For a venue owned or oper- 1 ated by a nonprofit entity that pro- 2 duces free events, the events are pro- 3 duced and managed by paid employ- 4 ees, not by volunteers. 5 (VI) Performances are marketed 6 through listings in printed or elec- 7 tronic publications, on websites, by 8 mass email, or on social media. 9 (iv) The live venue operator or pro- 10 ducer or promoter or the talent representa- 11 tive does not have, or is not majority 12 owned or controlled by an entity with, 13 more than one of the following characteris- 14 tics: 15 (I) Being an issuer, the securities 16 of which are listed on a national secu- 17 rities exchange. 18 (II) Owning or operating venues 19 or talent agencies or talent manage- 20 ment companies with offices in more 21 than 1 country. 22 (III) Owning or operating venues 23 in more than 10 States. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 Aug 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4258.IS S4258 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 4258 IS (IV) Employing more than 500 1 employees, determined on a full-time 2 equivalent basis in accordance with 3 subparagraph (B). 4 (V) Receiving more than 10 per- 5 cent of gross revenue from Federal 6 funding. 7 (B) CALCULATION OF FULL-TIME EMPLOY- 8 EES.—For purposes of determining the number 9 of full-time equivalent employees under sub- 10 paragraph (A)(iv)(IV)— 11 (i) any employee working not fewer 12 than 30 hours per week shall be considered 13 a full-time employee; and 14 (ii) any employee working not fewer 15 than 10 hours and fewer than 30 hours 16 per week shall be counted as one-half of a 17 full-time employee. 18 (3) EXCHANGE; ISSUER; SECURITY.—The terms 19 ‘‘exchange’’, ‘‘issuer’’, and ‘‘security’’ have the 20 meanings given such terms in section 3(a) of the Se- 21 curities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)). 22 (4) LIVE VENUE OPERATOR OR PRODUCER OR 23 PROMOTER.—The term ‘‘live venue operator or pro- 24 ducer or promoter’’— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 Aug 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4258.IS S4258 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 4258 IS (A) means an individual or entity that— 1 (i) as not less than 70 percent of the 2 operations of the person, organizes, pro- 3 motes, sells tickets, produces, manages, or 4 hosts live concerts, comedy shows, theat- 5 rical productions, or other events by per- 6 forming artists and applies a cover charge 7 through ticketing or a front door entrance 8 fee; or 9 (ii) makes tickets to events described 10 in clause (i) available for purchase by the 11 public an average of not less than 60 days 12 before the date of the event and pays per- 13 formers in an event described in clause (i) 14 in an amount that is based on a percent- 15 age of sales, guarantee (in writing or 16 standard contract), or another mutually 17 beneficial formal agreement; and 18 (B) includes an individual or entity de- 19 scribed in subparagraph (A) that— 20 (i) operates for profit or as a non- 21 profit; 22 (ii) is government-owned; or 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 Aug 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4258.IS S4258 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 4258 IS (iii) is a corporation, limited liability 1 company, or partnership or operated as a 2 sole proprietorship. 3 (5) NATIONAL SECURITIES EXCHANGE.—The 4 term ‘‘national securities exchange’’ means an ex- 5 change registered as a national securities exchange 6 under section 6 of the Securities Exchange Act of 7 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78f). 8 (6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means— 9 (A) a State; 10 (B) the District of Columbia; 11 (C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; 12 and 13 (D) any other territory or possession of the 14 United States. 15 (7) TALENT REPRESENTATIVE.—The term ‘‘tal- 16 ent representative’’— 17 (A) means an agent or manager that— 18 (i) as not less than 70 percent of the 19 operations of the agent or manager, is en- 20 gaged in representing or managing artists 21 and entertainers; 22 (ii) books musicians, comedians, ac- 23 tors, or similar performing artists pri- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 Aug 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4258.IS S4258 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 4258 IS marily in independent venues or at fes- 1 tivals; and 2 (iii) represents performers described 3 in clause (ii) that are paid in an amount 4 that is based on the number of tickets sold, 5 or a similar basis; and 6 (B) includes an agent or manager de- 7 scribed in subparagraph (A) that— 8 (i) operates for profit or as a non- 9 profit; 10 (ii) is government-owned; or 11 (iii) is a corporation, limited liability 12 company, or partnership or operated as a 13 sole proprietorship. 14 (b) AUTHORITY.— 15 (1) INITIAL GRANTS.—The Administrator may 16 make initial grants to eligible operators, promoters, 17 and talent representatives in accordance with this 18 section. 19 (2) SUPPLEMENTAL GRANTS.—The Adminis- 20 trator may make a supplemental grant in accordance 21 with this section to an eligible operator, promoter, 22 producer, or talent representative that receives a 23 grant under paragraph (1) if, as of December 1, 24 2020, the revenues of the eligible operator, pro- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 Aug 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4258.IS S4258 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 4258 IS moter, producer, or talent representative for the 1 most recent calendar quarter are not more than 20 2 percent of the revenues of the eligible operator, pro- 3 moter, producer, or talent representative for the cor- 4 responding calendar quarter during 2019 due to the 5 COVID–19 pandemic. 6 (c) AMOUNT.— 7 (1) INITIAL GRANTS.—A grant under sub- 8 section (b)(1) shall be in the amount equal to the 9 lesser of— 10 (A) the amount equal to 45 percent of the 11 gross revenue of the eligible operator, promoter, 12 producer, or talent representative during 2019; 13 (B) for an eligible operator, promoter, pro- 14 ducer, or talent representative that began oper- 15 ations after January 1, 2019, the amount equal 16 to the product obtained by multiplying— 17 (i) the average monthly gross revenue 18 for each full month during which the entity 19 was in operation during 2019; by 20 (ii) 6; or 21 (C) $12,000,000. 22 (2) SUPPLEMENTAL GRANTS.—A grant under 23 subsection (b)(2) shall be in the amount equal to 50 24 percent of the grant received by the eligible operator, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 Aug 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4258.IS S4258 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 4258 IS promoter, producer, or talent representative under 1 subsection (b)(1). 2 (d) USE OF FUNDS.— 3 (1) TIMING.— 4 (A) EXPENSES INCURRED.— 5 (i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 6 in clause (ii), amounts received under a 7 grant under this section may be used for 8 costs incurred during the period beginning 9 on March 1, 2020, and ending on Decem- 10 ber 31, 2020. 11 (ii) EXTENSION FOR SUPPLEMENTAL 12 GRANTS.—If an eligible operator, pro- 13 moter, producer, or talent representative 14 receives a grant under subsection (b)(2), 15 amounts received under either grant under 16 this section may be used for costs incurred 17 during the period beginning on March 1, 18 2020, and ending on June 30, 2021. 19 (B) EXPENDITURE.— 20 (i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 21 in clause (ii), an eligible operator, pro- 22 moter, producer, or talent representative 23 shall return to the Administrator any 24 amounts received under a grant under this 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 Aug 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4258.IS S4258 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 4258 IS section that are not expended on or before 1 the date that is 1 year after the date of 2 disbursement of the grant. 3 (ii) EXTENSION FOR SUPPLEMENTAL 4 GRANTS.—If an eligible operator, pro- 5 moter, producer, or talent representative 6 receives a grant under subsection (b)(2), 7 the eligible operator, promoter, producer, 8 or talent representative shall return to the 9 Administrator any amounts received under 10 either grant under this section that are not 11 expended on or before the date that is 18 12 months after the date of disbursement to 13 the eligible operator, promoter, producer, 14 or talent representative of the grant under 15 subsection (b)(1). 16 (2) ALLOWABLE EXPENSES.—An eligible oper- 17 ator, promoter, producer, or talent representative 18 may use amounts received under a grant under this 19 section for— 20 (A) payroll costs for employees and fur- 21 loughed employees, including— 22 (i) costs for continuation coverage 23 provided pursuant to part 6 of subtitle B 24 of title I of the Employee Retirement In- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 Aug 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4258.IS S4258 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 4258 IS come Security Act of 1974 (other than 1 under section 609), title XXII of the Pub- 2 lic Health Service Act, section 4980B of 3 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (other 4 than subsection (f)(1) of such section inso- 5 far as it relates to pediatric vaccines), or 6 section 8905a of title 5, United States 7 Code, or under a State program that pro- 8 vides comparable continuation coverage, 9 other than coverage under a health flexible 10 spending arrangement under a cafeteria 11 plan within the meaning of section 125 of 12 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; or 13 (ii) any other non-cash benefit; 14 (B) rent; 15 (C) utilities; 16 (D) mortgage interest payments on exist- 17 ing mortgages as of February 15, 2020; 18 (E) scheduled interest payments on other 19 scheduled debt as of February 15, 2020; 20 (F) costs related to personal protective 21 equipment; 22 (G) payments of principal on outstanding 23 loans; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 Aug 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4258.IS S4258 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 4258 IS (H) payments made to independent con- 1 tractors, as reported on Form–1099 MISC; and 2 (I) other ordinary and necessary business 3 expenses, including— 4 (i) settling existing debts owed to ven- 5 dors; 6 (ii) maintenance expenses; 7 (iii) administrative costs; 8 (iv) taxes; 9 (v) operating leases; 10 (vi) insurance; and 11 (vii) any other capital expenditure or 12 expense required under any State, local, or 13 Federal law or guideline related to social 14 distancing. 15 (3) PROHIBITED EXPENSES.—An eligible oper- 16 ator, promoter, producer, or talent representative 17 may not use amounts received under a grant under 18 this section— 19 (A) to purchase real estate; 20 (B) for payments of interest or principal 21 on loans originated after February 15, 2020; 22 (C) to invest or re-lend funds; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 Aug 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4258.IS S4258 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 14 •S 4258 IS (D) for contributions or expenditures to, or 1 on behalf of, any political party, party com- 2 mittee, or candidate for elective office; or 3 (E) for any other use as may be prohibited 4 by the Administrator. 5 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 6 authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000,000 to carry 7 out this section. 8 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 Aug 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S4258.IS S4258 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS