SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(a) Small nonprofit performing arts companies (SNPACs) create and preserve opportunities for performers and people in the performing arts sector, particularly workers in marginalized communities.
(b) SNPACs are often the on-ramps for emerging performers and people entering the performing arts industries, and they are incubators for new works.
(c) Because of historic undercapitalization of community-based arts and the effects of prolonged shutdown, SNPACs are reducing the number of people they hire and the number of programs they offer.
(d) SNPACs present stories that resonate with and reflect the community, the artists, and the social context of the times. The size of cast and the need for designers, choreographers, and other production workers is largely dictated by the requirements of the story being told. It is important to preserve this outlet for First Amendment speech that represents and engages marginalized groups.
(e) SNPACs have historically provided networking, educational, and mentoring opportunities for artists who are Black, Indigenous, or other people of color, facilitating connections necessary for career advancement and have provided performance experience that helps to open doors to work in larger, less accessible companies.
(f) Because of their mission to make theater accessible through low ticket prices and free services, the majority of SNPACs cannot cover the costs of production through tickets sales alone and must, on average, raise funds to cover 40 to 60 percent of the costs of each production.
(g) SNPACs provide substantial economic benefits to their communities through their leveraging effect on the economy from tourism, leisure spending, and engagement of ancillary services.
(h) Workers in the live performing arts experienced one of the state’s highest unemployment rates during the over 15-month-long pandemic shutdown of small live performance venues.
(i) Each SNPAC creates an average of 64 jobs annually for a cumulative average of 121,436 jobs created by the sector each year.
(j) Establishing a sustainable infrastructure and path for SNPAC growth will improve the health of the entire sector and help small companies grow and increase wages. For many SNPACs, payroll has long been a challenge, because they often have regular turnover as the company of performers and crew will vary from show to show. According to local media reports, paymasters have been charging fees that can drive the employment premium for some California SNPACs as high as 30 percent.
(k) Substantial savings can be achieved by funding regional nonprofit and arts services organizations to act as production worker administration hubs for SNPACs, starting with payroll services. It is, therefore, the intent of the Legislature in enacting this measure to fund paymaster and payroll services.
(l) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this act to recognize the special circumstances and the charitable nature of SNPACs while promoting job creation in the sector.