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RESOLUTION DIRECTING THE COUNTY MAYOR OR COUNTY MAYOR�S DESIGNEE TO DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT THE MIAMI-DADE ARTS SUPPORT GRANT PROGRAM WITH CERTAIN CRITERIA FOR CULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS AND ARTISTS-ENTREPRENEURS USING $10 MILLION OF FUNDS MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE 2020 CORONAVIRUS AID, RELIEF, AND ECONOMIC SECURITY ACT (CARES ACT) TO ALLEVIATE FINANCIAL HARDSHIPS CAUSED BY CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 2019 (COVID-19); AUTHORIZING THE COUNTY MAYOR OR COUNTY MAYOR�S DESIGNEE TO NEGOTIATE AND EXECUTE ANY DOCUMENTS NECESSARY TO CARRY OUT THE PURPOSES OF THIS RESOLUTION; AND REQUIRING REPORTS

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WHEREAS, in early 2020, the State of Florida and Miami-Dade County began experiencing an outbreak of the infectious disease named coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); and
WHEREAS, in response to COVID-19, Governor Ron DeSantis issued Executive Order 20-51, directing the State Health Officer and Surgeon General to declare a public health emergency in the State of Florida and directing the State Health Officer take any action necessary to protect the public health and to follow guidelines established by the United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to control the spread of COVID-19; and
WHEREAS, on March 12, 2020, County Mayor Carlos Gimenez declared a state of emergency in Miami-Dade County; and
WHEREAS, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, public health officials and the CDC encouraged �social distancing� to reduce the spread of the virus; and
WHEREAS, to enforce social distancing, Governor DeSantis and Mayor Gimenez have issued executive and emergency orders restricting businesses� and residents� activities in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19; and
WHEREAS, while these precautions were established to keep people safe, these precautions have had and continue to have a negative financial impact on many County businesses and residents; and
WHEREAS, to help blunt the impact of the economic downturn set in motion by the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States Congress passed�and on March 27, 2020 President Donald Trump signed into law�H.R. 748, the �Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act� (the �CARES Act�); and
WHEREAS, the CARES Act is a $2 trillion stimulus package which established a $150 billion Coronavirus Relief Fund for local governments; and
WHEREAS, the Cares Act requires that the payments to local governments from the Coronavirus Relief Fund only be used to cover expenses that:
(1) are necessary expenditures incurred due to the public health emergency with respect to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID�19);
(2) were not accounted for in the budget most recently approved as of March 27, 2020 (the date of enactment of the CARES Act) for the State or government; and
(3) were incurred during the period that begins on March 1, 2020, and ends on December 30, 2020; and

WHEREAS, this Board has recently approved legislation providing financial assistance to small businesses impacted by COVID-19, including a revolving loan fund for micro-businesses, a small business forgivable loan program, and a forgivable loan and grant program for small nonprofit organizations; and
WHEREAS, cultural organizations and artists-entrepreneurs provide a unique benefit to our community in a wide range of areas, including encouraging tourism and providing productive outlets for youth in the community; and
WHEREAS, cultural organizations, including museums, theaters, festivals, and events, as well as artist-entrepreneurs constitute a $1.4 billion industry in Miami-Dade County, employing approximately 40,000 workers in a wide range of areas, from accountants to actors to security guards and stagehands; and
WHEREAS, these cultural organizations and artists-entrepreneurs were particularly hard hit by the shut downs and by their nature will remain impacted for months to come; and
WHEREAS, the impact of closing the arts season in March 2020 eliminated earned revenue, including ticket sales, contracted services, etc., and vastly reduced contributed income and donations, resulting in mounting budget deficits resulting in arts and cultural organizations having to furlough or eliminate thousands of jobs; and
WHEREAS, surveys of these cultural organizations document a $59.5 million financial impact and the loss of 9,200 jobs as of May 2020; and
WHEREAS, the Department of Cultural Affairs� Miami-Dade Artists Support program has documented $5.2 million so far in financial losses reported by 533 artist entrepreneurs; and
WHEREAS, Miami-Dade County has invested billions of dollars in creating one of the world�s newest, most dynamic and diverse cultural communities and investment at this critical moment will help ensure the survival of hundreds of cultural organizations and the restoration and preservation of thousands of arts jobs; and
WHEREAS, this Board desires to direct the County Mayor or County Mayor�s designee to use funding made available through the CARES Act to help hundreds of cultural organizations and artists-entrepreneurs who are experiencing financial losses caused by COVID-19,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA, that this Board:
Section 1. The foregoing recitals are incorporated herein by reference and adopted.
Section 2. Directs the County Mayor or County Mayor�s designee to implement a program to be entitled the Miami-Dade Arts Support Grant Program for cultural organizations and artists-entrepreneurs, which have been impacted by COVID-19 using $10 million of funding made available through the CARES Act. In developing the program, the County Mayor or County Mayor�s designee shall: (i) require that organizations demonstrate financial loss due to COVID-19, (ii) provide for a uniform maximum grant amount per organization, (iii) require that applicants for grants demonstrate that any remaining financial loss has not been made up by financial assistance from other emergency county forgivable loan or grant programs established in response to COVID-19 or insurance, and (iv) if eligible under the CARES Act, make such funds available for the payment of business expenses, including employee payroll costs, business interruption costs, program support, and re-opening expenses.
Section 3. Directs the County Mayor or County Mayor�s designee to develop and implement the program and appoint staff to administer and monitor the program.
Section 4. Authorizes the County Mayor or County Mayor�s designee to negotiate and execute any documents necessary to carry out the purposes of this resolution, following approval of such documents by the County Attorney�s office for legal form and sufficiency.
Section 5. Directs the County Mayor or County Mayor�s designee to provide a written report to this Board within 15 days of the effective date of this resolution detailing the status of the development and implementation of the program or explaining why it has not been developed or implemented. Upon implementation, the County Mayor or County Mayor�s designee shall provide a written report to this Board every 30 days detailing the status of the program until a final report that indicates that all funding for the program has been exhausted. The County Mayor or County Mayor�s designee shall place the completed reports on agendas of the Board pursuant to Ordinance No. 14-65.