JOIN THE DOWNTOWN VITALITY ACT COALITION

Written By Kelsey Rode

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Picture features Elissa Paquette of Downtown New Bedford, Inc. and owner of Calico behind a podium. Background is decorative.

H.228/S.130, An Act to Promote Downtown Vitality

Sponsored by Rep. Tony Cabral and Sen. John Cronin


ABOUT THE DOWNTOWN VITALITY ACT


The Downtown Vitality Act would establish the Downtown Vitality Fund and dedicate 5% of revenues from online sales in Massachusetts to support staffing and operations of cultural districts, business improvement districts, main street associations, and parking benefit districts in Gateway Cities and other low-income communities.


Small business districts in communities across the Commonwealth need vibrant, walkable areas to attract enough foot traffic to succeed in today’s challenging commercial environment. Online retail is detracting dollars away from local economies, contributing to economic and cultural displacement. Massachusetts has the foundation for successful downtown districts with our abundance of historic areas, urban squares, town centers, and rural villages. We have historically lacked the governance and financing structures to manage these places for 15-hour districts, 7 days a week - but that is changing. A burgeoning network of business improvement districts (BIDs) have emerged over the last five years and we have established dozens of cultural districts. Parking benefit districts represent a new management tool and innovative public-private-civic partnerships are on the rise. The state still lacks a funding mechanism to scale up this local innovation and create a system of management capacity on the sub-local and district levels.

WHAT THE BILL WOULD DO:

  • Establish a Downtown Vitality Fund managed by EOED, funded with 5% of online sales tax revenue

  • The Fund will disburse grants to establish, sustain, or provide technical assistance to district management entities in commercial areas, which could include:

    • Cultural Districts

    • Business Improvement Districts

    • Parking Benefit Districts

    • Other district management entities approved by the agency

  • Grants must be matched by local funding sources (guidelines to be developed by EOED)

  • Priorities include:

    • Gateway Cities and other low-income areas

    • Expanding entrepreneurship opportunities among underrepresented communities

    • Strengthening cultural identity and preventing cultural displacement

  • Establish a Downtown Vitality Advisory Board comprised of 15 members who will advise EOED on the fund and review its activities. Proposed members include: MassDevelopment, Mass Cultural Council, business improvement district representatives, cultural district representatives, municipalities (Gateway City and non-Gateway City), and underrepresented communities

  • Expands the permissible use of funds raised through parking benefit districts to include district management activities and operations.

The Downtown Vitality Act would transform Massachusetts into a leading state by ensuring that our communities, large and small, have thriving, beating hearts in their economic hubs. By reinvesting a portion of online sales revenues back into our local economies, we have an opportunity to value and strengthen our state’s diversity, build entrepreneurship among immigrants and communities of color, and enhance our unique cultural business districts.


WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP?

MASSCreative Action Network is partnering with more than 106 individuals and cultural organizations to advance the Downtown Vitality Act this legislative session. Our coalition partners include: Abstraction Music Group LLC, Arts League of Lowell, Bellforge Arts Center, Blues to Green, Cabot Performing Arts Center, Creative Collective LLC, Downtown Taunton Foundation, Downtown Worcester Business Impr0vement District, Fall River Arts and Culture Coalition, Greater Lawrence Fellowship of the Arts, Holyoke Art Inc., Hub Theatre Company of Boston, LTCI, Mass Cultural Council, MassINC, Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC), MultiArts, New Bedford Art Museum, New Bedford Whaling Museum, Playful Engineers, Serious Play Theatre Ensemble, Servedwell Hospitality, Springfield Business Improvement District, Springfield Cultural Partnership, Tzedeck.com, Van Gogh’s Gear, Waterfront Historic Area League Inc. (WHALE), YMCA Southcoast, and Your Theatre/Steeple Playhouse.

Additionally, we are receiving support for the Downtown Vitality Act from mayors and managers of Gateway municipalities across Massachusetts.

We’re building a coalition of artists, cultural organizations, creative businesses, and sector allies to advocate for this bill. We know that united advocacy works and invite you to join our coalition today.


JOIN OUR COALITION BY TAKING THESE ACTIONS:

  • Use the form below to endorse the Downtown the Vitality Act. By formally endorsing, you are consenting to our use of your name or logo on bill advocacy materials, working to engage more state and local lawmakers to support the bill through meetings and outreach, sharing calls to action and other advocacy efforts on your social media or with your networks, and sharing your feedback on ways to strengthen the legislation.

    Can your nonprofit organization endorse legislation?

    Yes! Check out our guide for nonprofits interested in advocacy.

  • Building support for the Downtown Vitality Act in the House and Senate is a crucial part of advocacy. If your state senator and state representative are not currently co-sponsoring the Downtown Vitality Act, call their office or send an email and ask them to co-sponsor H.228 and S.130.

    You can see the list of co-sponsors by visiting the bill pages on the Commonwealth’s website and looking at the “Petitioners” tab. Use these links for H.228 and S.130. You can look up your elected decision makers here.

    Interested in resources to help with your outreach? We’ve created templates for you to use! These resources are frameworks that you can build on to speak specifically to the issues you want to highlight in your community:

    Downtown Vitality Act Call Sheet and Email Template

  • The Downtown Vitality Act is under review by the Joint Committee on Community Development and Small Businesses and we want them to know that this issue and bill are important to people around Massachusetts. We do that when we send written testimony about legislation to the committee.

    You can still send in testimony! Use these guides to help you craft your testimony:

    Downtown Vitality Act Fact Sheet

    Read MassINC’s Downtown Vitality Act Fiscal Analysis and Recommendations Memo

    Draft Testimony and Talking Points for the Downtown Vitality Act

    Slide Deck from MassINC’s Presentation to Regional Economic Developers

  • Let the people and organizations in your life know that we need the Downtown Vitality Act to help our downtown districts not just survive, but thrive. Invite them to join our coalition and lend their support.

DOWNTOWN VITALITY ACT IN THE NEWS:

Resources
A Guide To Hearing And Giving Testimony

An important part of the governing process is public hearings. These occur on all levels of government (Federal, State, and Local). Understanding the hearing process and how you can participate will make you a more effective advocate for a more equitable and inclusive creative sector.

INSIDE THE STATE BUDGETING PROCESS

Maintaining and increasing public investment in the creative community requires constant and broad grassroots activism throughout the annual budget process.

NonProfit Organizations & Advocacy

There is a lot of misinformation on what a nonprofit can and cannot do when it comes to advocating for its interests and the needs of the communities they serve. Check out our Nonprofits and Advocacy Resource on how your organization effectively and confidently advocate for a more equitable and inclusive creative sector of all residents in the Commonwealth.

6/19/20 - POLICY & ACTION UPDATE WEBINAR

In this webinar, we took time to honor Juneteenth and Pride Month, and talked about the status of arts education funding and voting protections.

6/12/20 - POLICY & ACTION UPDATE WEBINAR

In this webinar, we discussed mapping our roles in a social change ecosystem, talked about proposed legislation to address COVID-19 voting options, the 2020 Census, and reviewed federal and state supports for the creative sector.

6/5/20 - policy & action update webinars

In this webinar, we had a community conversation about mapping our social change roles during times of crisis.

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Read Richeline's blog about attending the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Annual Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C. and how artists can play a role in strengthening communities and democracy.

MOAC CULTURAL INVESTMENT GRANT ANNOUNCEMENT

Last week, MOAC for the City of Boston announced that they are establishing a $10M multi-year Cultural Investment Grant funded through local ARPA appropriations.

Creative Sector Advocates Request $5 Per Resident in Healey’s FY24 Proposal

“Budgets are a reflection of our priorities: what we choose to spend public funds on is in direct relationship to what we value. The creative sector plays a crucial role in the vibrancy of our cities and towns. Artists, creative workers, and cultural organizations strengthen our connections to each other and our communities.” said Emily Ruddock, Executive Director of MASSCreative

Kelsey Rode
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