Budget Law 2023 approved. Here are the measures for culture

With 107 votes in favor, 69 against and one abstention, today, Thursday, Dec. 29, the Senate finally approved the Budget Bill 2023 (A.S. 442), or the financial maneuver for the year 2023, which thus officially becomes law, after the upper chamber renewed confidence in the government on the approval of Article 1 in the text fired by the House, with 109 votes in favor, 76 against and one abstention. This is the first Budget Law of the Meloni government. Below are all the measures for culture.

Refinancing of the fund for artistic ceramics and Murano art glass enterprises

In view of the difficulties caused by the energy crisis affecting the Murano glass sector, Paragraph 52 refinances the fund established by the Budget Law 2022, intended for companies operating in the artistic ceramics and Murano artistic glass sector, to the extent of €1.5 million for the year 2023. The support ono granted under and within the limits of the European Commission’s Communication on the Temporary Crisis Framework for State Aid Measures to Support the Economy in the Aftermath of Russia’s Aggression against Ukraine.

Improvement of urban decorum

Paragraph 467 stipulates that a share of not more than 2.5 percent of the resources of the Fund for High Performance Infrastructure (FIAR) shall be allocated to projects for upgrading urban infrastructure or improving the quality of urban decorum under the responsibility of local authorities. To this end, the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, in consultation with the Minister of Economy and Finance, shall prepare a notice to establish: the procedure for the submission of projects; the documentation to be attached to the projects by the municipalities concerned; and the criteria for evaluating the projects, including: the improvement of the quality of urban decorum and the social and environmental fabric, including by means of building renovations, with particular reference to the development of social and educational services and the promotion of cultural, educational and sports activities; the timely execution of the interventions on the basis of the data resulting in the information systems of the Department of the General Accounting of the State; the ability to involve public and private entities and financing as well as to activate a multiplier effect of public financing towards private investments.

Increase in the fund for students with disabilities in institutions of higher artistic, musical and coreutic education

In order to enable institutions of higher artistic, musical and coreutic education to guarantee services and initiatives in favor of students with disabilities, students with disabilities exceeding 66 percent as well as students with certification of specific learning disorder as of the academic year 2023/2024, the funds allocated for the administrative operation and educational activities of those institutions are increased by 1.000,000 annually (Paragraph 584), as of the year 2023, to encourage the participation of students with disabilities in courses of study, making use of teachers appropriately trained through specific postgraduate university paths as academic tutors specialized in inclusive music education.

Fund to raise professional standards in tourism

Paragraph 603 establishes the Fund for Enhancing Professional Level in Tourism. This is a fund created to help improve the competitiveness of workers in the tourism sector as well as to facilitate the inclusion of senior tourism professionals in the labor market, and it is established in the budget of the Ministry of Tourism. The resources of the fund are earmarked for the following purposes: retraining of personnel already employed in the sector and training of new professional figures, including through training paths and schools of excellence, high-level training and specialization courses, aimed at training professional figures with an international-level preparation in tourism and tourism services, catering and knowledge of the food and wine products of Italian tradition and culture; initiatives to strengthen the skills of professionals in the sector through cycles of continuous updating; initiatives to support the insertion of professionals in the labor market; and initiatives to facilitate the expansion of the labor supply basins. Resources will be distributed and allocated by subsequent decree of the Minister of Tourism.

Fund for small municipalities with a vocation for tourism

A Fund for small municipalities with a vocation for tourism is established (Paragraph 607) in the estimates of the Ministry of Tourism, with an allocation of 10 million euros for the year 2023 and 12 million euros for each of the years 2024 and 2025. The fund is intended to finance projects to enhance the value of municipalities with a population of less than 5,000, classified by the National Institute of Statistics as municipalities with a tourist vocation, in order to encourage innovative interventions in accessibility, mobility, urban regeneration and environmental sustainability. Implementation modalities will be defined by decree of the Minister of Tourism.

Sustainable Tourism Fund.

In order to strengthen interventions aimed at the promotion of ecotourism and sustainable tourism, which aim to minimize economic, environmental and social impacts while generating income, employment and conservation of local ecosystems, Paragraph 611 establishes, in the estimates of the Ministry of Tourism, the Fund for Sustainable Tourism, with an endowment of 5 million euros for the year 2023 and 10 million euros for each of the years 2024 and 2025. The resources of the Fund referred to in the first period are earmarked for the following purposes: to strengthen major cultural destinations through the promotion of sustainable forms of tourism, the mitigation of tourist overcrowding, the creation of innovative tourist itineraries and the deseasonalization of tourism; to encourage the ecological transition in tourism, with actions to promote intermodal tourism in accordance with emission reduction strategies for tourism; and to support accommodation facilities and tourism enterprises in activities useful for achieving sustainability certifications.

Transformation of the Sports Credit Institute into a joint stock company.

In order to ensure the continuity of the promotion and support of the activities of public and private entities in sports and culture, the Institute for Sports Credit, is transformed into a joint stock company under singular law, named “Istituto per il credito sportivo e culturale Spa,” which succeeds in the active and passive relationships, as well as the rights and obligations of the Institute itself existing on the effective date of the transformation. The transformation of the Istituto per il credito sportivo into a joint-stock company is carried out on the basis of a project approved by the board of directors, pursuant to the decree referred to in paragraph 625, which defines the program and bylaws of the company Istituto per il credito sportivo e culturale Spa. The transformation is carried out by public deed, following the outcome of the authorization procedure of the competent credit supervisory authority and in accordance with current regulations. The company Istituto per il credito sportivo e culturale Spa will pursue its public interest mission by carrying out banking activities aimed at the development and support of the sports and culture sectors, through the collection of savings from the public in the form of deposits and in any other form, the exercise of credit and any other financial as well as the promotion, according to market logic and conditions, of the development of financial and investment activities in the aforementioned sectors, informing its activities with social responsibility and sustainable development, in favor of public or private entities. In order to carry out its activities, the company Istituto per il credito sportivo e culturale Spa may carry out, within the limits of the regulations in force, any instrumental, connected and ancillary operation, including through subsidiaries, including the promotion and management of securities and real estate funds as well as commercial, industrial, mortgage, securities, real estate, financial, assets and liabilities operations. The shares of the company Istituto per il credito sportivo e culturale Spa shall be allocated to the Ministry of Economy and Finance and other public and private entities participating in the capital of the Istituto per il credito sportivo, in proportion to the shareholding held in the same Istituto on the effective date of the transformation. Control of the company Istituto per il credito sportivo e culturale Spa is reserved for the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and private entities are only allowed, in any case, to hold overall minority stakes in the capital of the same company. The company Istituto per il credito sportivo e culturale Spa is assigned to manage, free of charge, the special funds provided for by the various laws on the subject (including the guarantee fund for the granting of interest subsidies and loans for interventions to safeguard and enhance the cultural heritage). For the management of special funds, the company Istituto per il credito sportivo e culturale Spa will establish separate managements for corporate governance, administrative, accounting and organizational purposes, inspired by transparency criteria. The Ministry of Sports and Youth and the Ministry of Culture will have the power to direct the respective separate managements.

Abolition of 18app and establishment of the Youth Culture Card and Merit Card

18app, the €500 culture bonus for 18-year-olds, is abolished and replaced by two new instruments, with purposes of allowing the purchase of tickets for theater and film performances and live shows, books, subscriptions to newspapers and periodicals including in digital format, recorded music, audiovisual publishing products, admission tickets to museums, exhibitions and cultural events, monuments, galleries, archaeological areas and natural parks as well as to support the costs related to music, theater, dance or foreign language courses. The first tool is the “Youth Culture Card,” granted to all residents of the national territory in possession, where applicable, of a valid residence permit, belonging to households with an indicator of the equivalent economic situation (ISEE) not exceeding 35,000 euros, awarded and usable in the year following the year of the 18th birthday. The second is the “Merit Card,” for individuals who have obtained, no later than the year of their nineteenth birthday, a final diploma from institutions of higher secondary education or its equivalent with a grade of at least 100 hundredths, awarded and usable in the year following the year of graduation and combinable with the Youth Culture Card. A total of 190 million euros is allocated for the 18-year old bonus. A subsequent decree of the Minister of Culture will define the nominal amounts to be allocated to the cards, in compliance with the spending limit, as well as the criteria and procedures for the allocation and use of the Youth Culture Card and the Merit Card. In the event of any misuse or violations of the implementing provisions, the Ministry may provide for their deactivation, removal from the list of accredited facilities, businesses or commercial establishments, denial of credit or recovery of sums not properly accounted for or possibly used for ineligible expenses, as well as as as a precautionary measure the suspension of the disbursement of credits or, in the case of more serious or repeated conduct, suspension from the list of accredited entities. In case of violation, where the fact does not constitute a crime, the prefect will order the imposition of an administrative fine on offenders in an amount between ten and fifty times the amount unduly received or disbursed and in any case not less than 1,000 euros in the minimum. The prefect may also order the suspension of the activity of the sanctioned structure, enterprise or business for a period not exceeding sixty days.

The FUS becomes the National Fund for Live Performing Arts.

Paragraph 631 transforms the Single Fund for Performing Arts (FUS) referred to in Article 1 of Law No. 163 of April 30, 1985, into the National Fund for Live Performing Arts.

Fund for Culture.

Paragraph 632 establishes, in the budget of the Ministry of Culture, a fund to be distributed with an allocation of 100 million euros for the year 2023, 34 million euros for the year 2024, 32 million euros for the year 2025, and 40 million euros annually from the year 2026. A decree of the Minister of Culture, in consultation with the Minister of Economy and Finance, to be adopted within sixty days from the date of entry into force of the law, will define the criteria for the distribution and allocation of the fund’s resources.

Resources for the National Union of Pro Loco of Italy.

To enable the realization of the census and the valorization of the expressions of the intangible cultural heritage of small municipalities, in implementation of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of UNESCO, adopted in Paris on October 17, 2003 by the General Conference of UNESCO, ratified pursuant to Law No. 167 of September 27, 2007, Paragraph 633 authorizes the expenditure of 900,000 euros for the year 2023 and 1 million euros for each of the years 2024 and 2025 in favor of the National Union of Pro Loco of Italy. Actions aimed at achieving the above purposes shall be carried out in agreement with the Central Institute for Intangible Heritage of the Ministry of Culture and the National Association of Italian Municipalities.<(è>

Increased resources of the Fund for Small and Medium-sized Creative Enterprises.

In order to encourage the strengthening and qualification of national cultural offerings as a means of sustainable and inclusive growth, new entrepreneurship and employment, with particular regard to youth, through support for cultural and creative enterprises, the endowment of the Fund for Small and Medium-sized Creative Enterprises established by Budget Law 2021 is increased by €3 million for the year 2023 and by €5 million annually from the year 2024.

300,000 euros for the Benedetto Croce Library Foundation.

Paragraph 635 authorizes the expenditure of 300,000 euros annually from the year 2023 for the funding of the Benedetto Croce Library Foundation, based in Naples.

700,000 euros per year to the Vivarium novum Academy in Frascati.

Paragraph 636 refinances the expenditure authorization for the Vivarium Academy in Frascati, in the amount of 700,000 euros annually from the year 2023.

Increased resources for the Fund for Pluralism and Information Innovation.

The fund for the Fund for Pluralism and Innovation of Information is increased by 75,883,298 euros for the year 2023 and 55 million euros annually from the year 2024.

Property tax exemption for the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei.

Paragraph 639 states that the provisions of Article 3 of Lieutenancy Decree No. 359 of September 28, 1944, as well as those of Article 1, paragraph 328, of Law No. 205 of December 27, 2017, as amended by Article 58-quater of Decree-Law No. 124, converted, with amendments, by Law No. 157 of December 19, 2019, should be interpreted to mean that the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei is exempt from taxes on real estate even if not directly used for its institutional purposes.

700,000 euros to Roma Capitale for the 80th anniversary of the Via del Portico d’Ottavia roundup.

In order to support events related to the celebrations on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the Via del Portico d’Ottavia round-up and to enhance the Jewish community’s deep historical bond with the city of Rome, Paragraph 644 grants a contribution of 700.000 euros in favor of the Municipality of Rome Capital for the year 2023, to be allocated to the realization of specific initiatives, public events, ceremonies, meetings and moments of remembrance, with the involvement of the associative and cultural organizations of Roman Jewry, aimed at commemorating the victims of racial hatred and the deportation of Jews.

Increased resources for the Graziadio Isaia Ascoli Foundation.

Paragraph 646 stipulates that the expenditure authorization for the institutional purposes of the Graziadio Isaia Ascoli Foundation for the education and transmission of Jewish culture is increased by 500,000 euros for each of the years 2023, 2024 and 2025.

Recovery and restoration interventions in Calabria.

A fund with an allocation of 7 million euros for the year 2023 is established (Paragraph 875) in the estimate of the Ministry of Culture, to be used for the following recovery and restoration interventions of the historical heritage: 2 million euros for the redevelopment, recovery and restoration of the historical heritage and landscape of the village of Pentidattilo, located in the municipality of Melito di Porto Salvo; 3 million euros for the redevelopment and enhancement of the Zerbi municipal lido, an asset of historical significance, located in the municipality of Reggio Calabria; and 2 million euros for the enhancement, upgrading and energy efficiency of the Antonimina - Locri thermal establishment, under the management of the Antiche acque sante thermal consortium, located in the municipality of Antonimina. A decree of the Minister of Culture, in consultation with the Minister of Economy and Finance, will define the procedures for the transfer of resources.

Budget Law 2023 approved. Here are the measures for culture

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