Local News and Emergency Information Act of 2020

Bill: 116-s-3718
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Cantwell, Maria [D-WA]
Introduced: 2020-05-13
Policy area: Commerce
Subjects: Broadcasting, cable, digital technologies

Business expenses

Cardiovascular and respiratory health

Congressional oversight

Emergency medical services and trauma care

Government lending and loan guarantees

Infectious and parasitic diseases

News media and reporting

Small business

Television and film
Latest action: action_date: 2020-05-13
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.

Summaries:
action_date: 2020-05-13
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p><b>Local News and Emergency Information Act of 2020</b></p> <p>This bill expands the Paycheck Protection Program, established to support small businesses in response to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019), to include certain newspaper publishers, radio stations, and television broadcasters.</p> <p>Specifically, such a media purveyor is eligible to receive a paycheck protection loan if (1) the individual physical location that applies for the loan does not exceed Small Business Administration size standards (up to 1,000 employees for newspaper publishers and $41.5 million in gross receipts for radio and television broadcasters); and (2) the proceeds of the loan are used to support the continued provision of local news, information, content, or emergency information. Such a recipient may not remit any portion of a paycheck protection loan to any entity other than the individual physical location that is the loan's intended recipient.</p>

tv_txt: II 116th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 3718 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES May 13, 2020 Ms. Cantwell (for herself, Mr. Boozman , Ms. Klobuchar , Ms. Ernst , and Mr. Schumer ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship A BILL To expand the waiver of affiliation rules for certain business concerns with more than 1 physical location, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Local News and Emergency Information Act of 2020 . 2. Amendments to the Paycheck Protection Program Section 7(a)(36)(D) of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 636(a)(36)(D) ) is amended— (1) in clause (iii)— (A) by striking business concern that employs and inserting the following: business concern that— (I) employs ; (B) in subclause (I), by striking the period at the end and inserting ; or ; and (C) by adding at the end the following: (II) is assigned a North American Industry Classification System code beginning with 511110, 515112, or 515120 at the time of disbursal shall be eligible to receive a covered loan for business expenses of the business concern that are associated with an individual physical location of that business concern, provided that— (aa) the proceeds of the loan are used to support expenses associated with the continued provision of local news, information, content, or emergency information; and (bb) at the time of disbursal, the individual physical location does not exceed the size standard established by the Administrator for the applicable code. ; (2) in clause (iv)— (A) in subclause (II), by striking and at the end; (B) in subclause (III), by striking the period at the end and inserting ; and ; and (C) by adding at the end the following: (IV) an individual physical location of a business concern that, as of the date on which the covered loan is disbursed, is assigned a North American Industry Classification System code beginning with 511110, 515112, or 515120 and does not exceed the size standard established by the Administrator for the applicable code, provided that, as a condition of the waiver under this subclause, the business concern shall not pay, distribute, or otherwise provide the covered loan or any portion of the covered loan to any other entity other than the individual physical location that is the intended recipient of the covered loan. ; and (3) by adding at the end the following: (vii) Treatment of certain business concerns (I) In general A business concern that is assigned a North American Industry Classification System Code beginning with 511110, 515112, or 515120 at the time of disbursal of a covered loan and is a franchisee or affiliate of or owned or controlled by a parent company or an investment company, or management thereof, shall be treated as an independent, non-affiliated entity upon certification to the Administrator that the request for the covered loan is necessary to support expenses associated with the continued provision of local news, information, content, or emergency information. (II) Report The Administrator and the Secretary of the Treasury shall submit to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate, the Committee on Small Business of the House of Representatives, and the Congressional Oversight Commission established under section 4020 of division B of the CARES Act ( Public Law 116–136 ) a report regarding covered loans made to business concerns described in subclause (I). .