After Months of Deadlock, Congress Extends Lifeline for the Arts and Entertainment Industry through the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant Program
On December 27, 2020, President Trump signed the “Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021” (the “Omnibus Bill”). Title III of Division M of the Omnibus Bill, titled the “Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits, and Venues Act” (“Title III”) contains not only important enhancements for existing and potential borrowers in the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”),1 but it has also added new relief programs. Among these new programs, the Grants for Shuttered Venue Operators program (the “Shuttered Venue Grant Program”) was created pursuant to Section 324 of Title III.
Front and Center: New SBA Grant Program for Shuttered Venue Operators
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the “CAA”), which provides $900 billion in new COVID-19 relief funding, was signed into law on December 27, 2020. Section 324 of Title III of the CAA, the Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits and Venues Act (the “Hard Hit Act”), introduces a new $15 billion grant program through which the U.S. Small Business Administration (the “SBA”) will provide aid to struggling live venue operators and related businesses. This program offers a critical lifeline from the Federal government for the nation’s performing arts venues, movie theatres and museums. Grants made under such program are referred to in this publication as “SOS Grants”.
Articles on COVID-19 and Entertainment Industry Issues
COVID-19 Government Intervention Schemes
Countries around the globe are facing unprecedented and rapid change due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This guide provides a summary of key government interventions around the globe in relation to: EU State Aid Approvals (for EMEA region), foreign investment restrictions, debt, equity and taxations.
The New Normal? Executive Guidance Asks Agencies to Reform Enforcement Policy
Given all the tumult with natural disasters, COVID-19, and other goings on in Washington, a memorandum directing government agencies to reform how they operate may have gone unnoticed. It’s worth considering. On August 31, 2020, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), a subagency within the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), issued Memorandum M-20-31 (the “Memo”), which elaborates on and implements directives from a prior executive order to consider and adopt certain best practices and procedures to promote fairness in administrative enforcement and adjudication..
Cybersecurity and data protection within the context of COVID-19 and the IoT
Episode 25 of our TechLaw Podcast Series features CEO and founder of Context IS, Mark Raeburn, discussing cybersecurity and data protection with one of our partners, Ross McKean. The recent findings from our European Technology Index 2020 highlighting the importance of the relationship between cybersecurity and IoT is a key focus.
Click here to listen to the audio.
Disinformation and COVID-19: EU Commission publishes second set of reports on actions taken by online platforms and advertisers to tackle coronavirus disinformation
On the 7th October 2020, the European Commission published its second set of reports on how the signatories to the Code of Practice on Disinformation have tackled false and misleading coronavirus information. The first assessment of how the Code has been implemented was published on the 10th September 2020.