15 U.S.C. § 9009a — Grants for shuttered venue operators

(a) Definitions (1) Eligible person or entity. To qualify for a grant, you must be one of these: a live venue operator or promoter, a theatrical producer, a live performing arts organization operator, a museum operator, a movie theater operator, or a talent representative (agent or manager). You must meet several tests: - You were fully up and running in that role on February 29, 2020. - Your earned revenue in one quarter of 2020 (the 4th quarter only counts if you apply on or after January 1, 2021) was at least 25% lower than the same quarter in 2019. - As of the day you get the grant, you're still doing that work or planning to resume it: live venue operators must be organizing or planning future live events; movie theaters must be open or planning to reopen to show films; museums must be open or planning to reopen; talent representatives must be actively representing performers. - Your venues (or the venues where your represented artists perform) must have real performance and audience space, sound and lighting equipment, and staff filling at least two of these roles: sound engineer, booker, promoter, stage manager, security, or box office manager. Tickets or a cover charge must be required for most shows, and artists must be paid fairly — not for free or tips only, except at charity events. If a nonprofit venue puts on free events, paid staff — not volunteers — must run them mainly. Shows must be advertised through listings, websites, email, or social media. - A movie theater must have at least one auditorium with a screen and fixed seats, a projection booth with at least one projector, paid tickets, and showtimes advertised publicly. - A museum must have exhibiting as its main business, indoor exhibit space that had pandemic occupancy limits, and at least one auditorium, theater, or lecture hall with fixed seats and regular programs. - You (or your majority owner) can't be a company listed on a stock exchange, and can't have gotten more than 10% of your 2019 revenue from federal funding (not counting disaster relief funds under the Stafford Act). - You (or your majority owner) can't have more than two of these three traits: operating in more than one country, operating in more than 10 states, or having more than 500 full-time-equivalent employees as of February 29, 2020. (A worker counted 30+ hours a week is one full employee; 10 to under 30 hours a week counts as half.) - If a state or local government owns the business, only the specific venue or business entity counts for these tests — not the whole government. You do NOT qualify if you present sexually explicit live performances, or if more than a small amount of your revenue comes from selling sexually explicit products, services, or displays. If you have multiple business entities that each independently meet these rules (and aren't excluded for the sexual-content reason), the SBA treats each one as its own separate applicant. (2)-(10) Other defined terms. "Exchange," "issuer," and "security" mean what they mean in section 78c(a). A "live venue operator or promoter..." is further defined as someone whose main business is putting on ticketed live shows where performers are paid based on sales or a set contract, and who earns at least 70% of its revenue from tickets, production fees, nonprofit education programs, or event food, drink, or merchandise sales — or someone who sells tickets to such events at least 60 days ahead of time on average. This can be a for-profit, nonprofit, government-owned, or any type of business entity. A "motion picture theatre operator" is someone whose main business is running at least one paid movie theater, in any of those same business forms. "National securities exchange" means an exchange registered under section 78f. "Nonprofit" means tax-exempt under section 501(a) of title 26. A "relevant museum" has the meaning from section 9172 of title 20 but can't be a for-profit entity. A "seasonal employer" has the meaning from section 636(a)(36)(A). "State" includes the 50 states, D.C., Puerto Rico, and other U.S. territories. A "talent representative" is an agent or manager whose work is at least 70% representing performers, who books musicians, comedians, actors, or similar artists mainly for live shows, and whose represented performers are paid based on ticket sales or something similar — again in any business form. (b) Authority (1) The SBA's Associate Administrator for the Office of Disaster Assistance runs the policies for these grants. Applicants must certify, in good faith, that current economic uncertainty makes the grant necessary to keep operating. (2) Initial grants. The SBA can make initial grants. For the first 14 days of awarding grants, only entities whose revenue from April–December 2020 was 10% or less of their revenue from the same months in 2019 (because of COVID-19) get grants. For the next 14 days, that threshold loosens to 30% or less. When figuring revenue for these tests: money received under the CARES Act doesn't count as revenue; the SBA uses accrual accounting; and for seasonal employers, the SBA can use other methods so January–March aren't unfairly counted. The SBA can spend up to 80% of the money set aside for this program on these priority applicants during the first 28 days. After that 28-day period, any eligible entity can get an initial grant. No more than 5 affiliated business entities of the same owner can get grants. At least $2 billion of the total grant money must go to entities with 50 or fewer full-time employees — but that set-aside rule stops applying 60 days after the SBA starts giving out grants. (3) Supplemental grants. If an entity that already got an initial grant still had revenue, as of April 1, 2021, that's 30% or less of the same quarter in 2019, it can get a second, supplemental grant. But the SBA must finish processing all timely initial-grant applications (filed within 60 days of the program opening) before it can give out any supplemental grants. (4) Certification. An applicant that also counted as an "eligible business" under a specific CARES Act provision must make the same good-faith certifications required there. (c) Amount (1) Initial grants. The grant equals the smaller of: (i) 45% of the entity's 2019 gross earned revenue (or, for an entity that started after January 1, 2019, its average monthly 2019 revenue times 6), or (ii) $10,000,000. A museum operator can't get more than $10,000,000 total across all its museums. If the entity later got a Paycheck Protection Program loan on or after December 27, 2020, the grant amount is reduced by that loan amount. For government-owned entities, only the specific business unit counts, not the whole government. (2) Supplemental grants equal 50% of the entity's initial grant. (3) No entity can receive more than $10,000,000 total between its initial and supplemental grants combined. (d) Use of funds (1) Timing. Grant money can pay for costs from March 1, 2020 through December 31, 2021 — or, if the entity also gets a supplemental grant, through June 30, 2022. Any money not spent within 1 year of getting it (18 months, if there's a supplemental grant) must be returned to the SBA. (2) Allowed expenses: payroll costs; rent; utility payments; mortgage interest or principal payments (but not prepaying principal); interest or principal on business debt taken on before February 15, 2020 (again, no prepaying principal); protecting workers from COVID-19; payments to independent contractors (capped at $100,000 per contractor per year, reported on Form 1099-MISC); and other regular business costs like maintenance, admin fees, state and local taxes, leases in place as of February 15, 2020, insurance, and advertising or production costs for a show or exhibit — though the grant can't be used mainly for that last category. (3) Prohibited uses: buying real estate; paying interest or principal on loans taken out after February 15, 2020; investing or re-lending the money; political donations or spending; or any other use the SBA bans. (e) Increased oversight The SBA must step up its oversight of grant recipients, which can include: requiring extra records — employment records must be kept 4 years, other records 3 years; and reviewing and auditing grants, and if it finds fraud or serious noncompliance, demanding repayment or taking legal action. (f) Shuttered venue oversight and audit plan (1) Within 45 days of December 27, 2020, the SBA must send Congress an audit plan explaining its oversight policies and how it will decide which grants to audit. (2) Starting 60 days after December 27, 2020, and monthly after that until a year after all program money is spent, the SBA must report to Congress on its oversight work, covering: how many initial grants were approved and paid; how much each recipient got, including supplemental grants; how many active investigations and audits are underway; how many completed reviews and audits there were, including any fraud or noncompliance found; and any big changes to the oversight plan.