February 7, 2006, Introduced by Senators JOHNSON, SWITALSKI, JACOBS, CLARKE, CLARK-COLEMAN, EMERSON, BRATER, SCOTT, THOMAS, PRUSI and LELAND and referred to the Committee on Finance.
A bill to provide for the levy, collection, and administration
of an excise tax on the admission charge to an entertainment event
in this state; to provide for the disposition of the proceeds of
the tax; to create and operate a grant program; to prescribe the
powers and duties of certain state departments; and to provide for
certain exemptions.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the
"entertainment and cultural admissions tax act".
Sec. 2. As used in this act:
(a) "Admission charge" means the actual charge, excluding
memberships, paid to attend the entertainment event.
(b) "Arts education initiative grant program" means the arts
education initiative grant program created in section 8.
(c) "Cultural facilities" means a museum, library, auditorium,
botanical garden, or other facility designated or used for the
arts, including equipment and furnishings, that is owned by a local
governmental unit or a nonprofit cultural institution.
(d) "Department" means the department of history, arts, and
libraries.
(e) "Entertainment and cultural events fund" or "fund" means
the entertainment and cultural events fund created in section 6.
(f) "Entertainment event" or "event" means 1 or more of the
following that is not an exempt event:
(i) Zoo.
(ii) Live theater.
(iii) Museum.
(iv) Opera.
(v) Professional sporting event.
(vi) Collegiate athletic event.
(vii) Concert.
(viii) Temporary or transient entertainment production.
(ix) Botanical gardens.
(x) Amusement parks.
(xi) Temporary or transient art, music, theatrical, dance,
literary, or cultural festival.
(g) "Exempt event" means an event that is 1 or more of the
following:
(i) All high school, middle school, and elementary or grade
school events.
(ii) Events sponsored by a nonprofit or charitable
organization, unless that organization received funds under this
act in the immediately preceding 12-month period.
(iii) Events sponsored by a nonprofit arts or cultural
organization that has an annual operating budget of less than
$200,000.00.
(iv) Individual fund-raising events sponsored or conducted by
and the proceeds of which benefit a nonprofit or charitable
organization.
(v) Paid-admission events presented within or as a
programmatic part of an art, culture, or entertainment facility or
festival for which a previously paid entry or gate admission has
been collected to that facility or festival which has a higher
ticket price.
(vi) State, county, local, or agricultural fairs.
Sec. 3. (1) An excise tax is levied on the admission charge of
each entertainment event in this state.
(2) The rate of the excise tax is 5% of the admission charge
of the entertainment event.
Sec. 4. (1) The excise tax shall be collected at the same time
and in the same manner as the tax imposed under the use tax act,
1937 PA 94, MCL 205.91 to 205.111.
(2) The excise tax imposed by this act shall be administered
by the state treasurer under 1941 PA 122, MCL 205.1 to 205.31.
(3) The state treasurer shall prescribe the forms necessary
for the administration of this act and may promulgate necessary
rules under the administrative procedures act of 1969, 1969 PA 306,
MCL 24.201 to 24.328.
Sec. 5. A taxpayer may reimburse himself or herself by adding
the amount of the tax to the admission charge.
Sec. 6. (1) The entertainment and cultural events fund is
created within the state treasury.
(2) The proceeds from the collection of the excise tax imposed
under this act shall be deposited with the state treasurer and
credited to the fund.
(3) The state treasurer may receive money or other assets from
any source for deposit into the fund. The state treasurer shall
direct the investment of the fund. The state treasurer shall credit
to the fund interest and earnings from fund investments.
(4) Money in the fund at the close of the fiscal year shall
remain in the fund and shall not lapse to the general fund.
(5) The department shall expend money from the fund, upon
appropriation, in the following order of priority:
(a) The first $30,000,000.00 to the department for projects
authorized by the Michigan council for the arts and cultural
affairs.
(b) The next $10,000,000.00 to be used for economic
development and promotion of professional sporting events and
concerts in this state.
(c) The next $5,000,000.00 to the department to fund the
grants for cultural facilities described in this act.
(d) The next $5,000,000.00 to the department of education to
fund the arts education initiative grant program.
(e) The remaining amount in the fund shall be divided
proportionally among the items described in subdivisions (a), (b),
and (c).
Sec. 7. (1) The department shall create and operate a grant
program and shall provide grants to local governmental units for
the development of cultural facilities.
(2) The department shall have all administrative
responsibility for the grant program, including the establishment
of additional application and program criteria.
(3) The grants described in this section shall only be awarded
if a list of grants and the grant recipients are approved in an
appropriation act.
Sec. 8. (1) The department of education shall create and
operate an arts education initiative grant program. The arts
education initiative grant program shall support quality
educational programs in the arts in Michigan public schools. The
goal of the program is to fund the development of a districtwide
arts education infrastructure that aligns with the Michigan
department of education's content standards, benchmarks, and
curriculum framework and leads to a strategic, long-range plan for
enabling all students to achieve or exceed the state standards in
the arts.
(2) School districts can apply for the arts education
initiative grant through a competitive application process for a
grant between $15,000.00 and $25,000.00 to develop a long-range
arts education master plan. Specifically, the arts education
initiative grant will support all of the following:
(a) Professional development for elementary generalists and K-
12 arts specialists and administrators in the delivery of
standards-based sequential arts curriculum and assessment of
students' learning.
(b) Development of curriculum and assessment tools.
(c) Leadership development among administrators.
(d) Development of networks that foster collaborative
initiatives and professional growth.
(3) The state board of education shall issue guidelines for
the development and implementation of the arts education initiative
grant program. The department of education shall do all of the
following:
(a) Administer and enforce the provisions of the arts
education initiative grant program.
(b) Assist local school districts in developing and evaluating
their districtwide, long-range arts education master plan.
(c) Ensure that arts education initiative grants provide for
the educational needs of students in the areas of visual arts,
music, theater or dance, or any combination of these areas.
Sec. 9. The department shall not provide a grant to a local
governmental unit for the development of cultural facilities unless
the local governmental unit provides a cash match or repayment
guarantee with a dedicated funding source, as determined by the
department.