AB422: Bill Text

Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau

This bill creates a grant program administered by the Arts Board in the Department of Tourism. The bill requires the Arts Board to award grants on a competitive basis to businesses, whether operated for profit or not for profit, local governmental agencies, and business development organizations or associations that work to promote creative businesses, products, or services in rural areas in Wisconsin, including by fostering any of the following:

1. Job and business creation and capacity building.

2. Workforce training and development.

3. Community and sector planning, development, and engagement.

4. Products or services with artistic, cultural, creative, or aesthetic qualities.

Under the bill, such a grant may not exceed $40,000 and must be expended solely for the benefit of rural areas. Additionally, the bill prohibits the Arts Board from awarding a grant unless the grant recipient matches the amount of the grant with moneys raised from nonstate sources.

For further information see the state fiscal estimate, which will be printed as an appendix to this bill.

The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:

AB422,1 Section 1. 20.005 (3) (schedule) of the statutes: at the appropriate place, insert the following amounts for the purposes indicated: - See PDF for table

AB422,2 Section 2 . 20.380 (3) (dm) of the statutes is created to read:

AB422,2,6 20.380 (3) (dm) Rural creative economy grant program. As a continuing appropriation, the amounts in the schedule for rural creative economy development grants under s. 41.567.

AB422,3 Section 3 . 41.567 of the statutes is created to read:

AB422,2,8 41.567 Rural creative economy grant program. (1) In this section:

AB422,2,10 (a) “Creative business, product, or service” means a business, product, or service having an artistic, cultural, creative, or aesthetic value.

AB422,2,11 (b) “Rural area" means any of the following:

AB422,2,12 1. A city, town, or village in this state that has a population of less than 20,000.

AB422,2,14 2. An area in this state that is not an urbanized area, as defined by the federal bureau of the census.

AB422,3,2 (2) (a) From the appropriation under s. 20.380 (3) (dm), the board shall award rural creative economy development grants on a competitive basis to businesses, whether operated for profit or not for profit, municipal and county governmental agencies, and business development organizations or associations that work to promote and assist creative businesses, products, or services in rural areas in this this state, including by fostering any of the following:

AB422,3,3 1. Job and business creation and capacity building.

AB422,3,4 2. Workforce training and development.

AB422,3,5 3. Community and sector planning, development, and engagement.

AB422,3,6 4. Products or services with artistic, cultural, creative, or aesthetic qualities.

AB422,3,8 (b) A grant awarded under par. (a) may not exceed $40,000 and shall be expended solely for the benefit of rural areas in this state.

AB422,3,11 (3) The board may not award a grant under sub. (2) unless the business, governmental agency, or business development organization or association has secured from nonstate sources an amount equal to the amount of the proposed grant.

AB422,4 Section 4 . Nonstatutory provision.

AB422,3,17 (1) Effectiveness report. The arts board shall develop a matrix to evaluate the effectiveness of rural creative economy development grants awarded under s. 41.567 and shall submit a report on the effectiveness of the rural creative economy development grants, as determined using the matrix developed under this subsection, to the joint committee on finance no later than May 1, 2023.

AB422,5 Section 5 . Effective date.

AB422,3,20 (1) This act takes effect on the day after publication, or on the 2nd day after publication of the 2021 biennial budget act, whichever is later.

AB422,3,21 (End)