Portantino Live Theater Support Bill Passes Senate Business and Professions Committee

For Immediate Release: April 4, 2022

Contact: Lerna Shirinian, (818) 409-0400

Portantino Live Theater Support Bill Passes Senate Business and Professions Committee

Sacramento, CA - Senate Bill 1116, a measure introduced by Senator Anthony J. Portantino (D – La Cañada Flintridge) which creates a payroll fund to support small nonprofit performing arts organizations (SNPAOs), passed the Senate Business and Professions Committee today.

“There is no substitute for the experience of live theater!  Despite some increased funding in recent years, the arts community in California has suffered from years of under-investment, especially considering California’s role as a national arts leader,” stated Senator Portantino. “SB 1116 will help create and sustain jobs for creative workers, one of the hardest hit workforce sectors. Investment in the arts helps the economic engine of local communities and transforms meaningful opportunities into jobs with living wages.”

Prior to the pandemic, California ranked just 28th in state arts funding on a per capita basis. This chronic long-term underfunding of the industry amounted to a double-hit when the pandemic shut down much of the live arts. Johns Hopkins University reports that, as of October 2021, the percentage of job losses at nonprofit arts organizations remains more than three times worse than the average of all nonprofits.

SB 1116 establishes the Equitable Payroll Fund (EPF), a grant program designed to support live performances – and workers directly – by providing substantial reimbursements of payroll expenses. This program will support jobs for anyone hired as an employee by a SNPAO, including both production and non-production employees and administrative staff. It does not apply to independent contractors who qualify as such under the ABC test set out in the Dynamex decision and codified by AB5.

The EPF will begin to stabilize SNPAOs immediately, preventing more closures and helping these organizations grow quickly to self-sustainability. The EPF will provide the greatest percent reimbursement to the smallest organizations. Since labor costs in the performing arts are relatively flat, these historically underfunded organizations are the hardest hit and most at risk. As SNPAOs grow, the percentage of payroll expenses that is reimbursed decreases as organizations are better able to absorb these costs. When an SNPAO reaches $2M, they graduate out of the program.

“SB 1116 will not only provide desperately needed economic relief and opportunity for California's creative workers, but also a bridge to sustainability for our small performing arts nonprofits, which continue to struggle with wildly escalating costs and a lagging pandemic recovery,” stated Martha Demson, Board President of the Theatre Producers of Southern California. “This vibrant sector provides critical on-ramp opportunities for emerging talent, helping to maintain California's position as a global arts and entertainment leader.  And at the same time, it provides local communities with low cost access to the performing arts in every county across the state. Without the Equitable Payroll Fund, the entire sector is at risk of imminent collapse.”

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