Friday,
January 29, 2010
MAC BUDGET
In FY2010, $10.185 million was appropriated
from non-resident athletes and entertainers
who work in Missouri to the Missouri Arts
Council Trust Fund. And though, we are barely
through half of the FY2010 fiscal year,
due to tough fiscal budgetary times, the
state has put spending restrictions on all
but $4.4 million of this amount.
Fortunately, for the arts grantees, the
Missouri Arts Council is able to honor their
FY2010 contracts, because funds will be
taken out of the Missouri Arts Council Trust
Fund to cover these statewide spending restrictions.
For FY2011 (which will begin July 1, 2010),
the Governor has recommended to the State
Legislature an appropriation of $3
million from the non-resident athletes
and entertainers tax to go to the Missouri
Arts Council Trust Fund. An appropriation
of $500,000 has been recommended for each
of our four Cultural Partners: Missouri
State Library Networking Fund, Missouri
Humanities Council, Missouri Public Broadcasting
Corporation Special Fund, and the Missouri
Historic Preservation Revolving Fund.
Kyna Iman testified this week on behalf
of funding for the Missouri Arts Council
before the House Appropriations Committee
for Economic Development. Iman discussed
the Governor’s recommendation with
the committee and asked the Appropriations
Committee to keep MAC’s core spending
authority to $9,750,000. This will
allow MAC to continue to draw necessary
funding from the Missouri Arts Council Trust
Fund for FY2011 grants.
The Governor also recommended a new decision
item for MAC for an increase of $200,000
in Federal spending authority to allow MAC
to accept any possible increases in Federal
Funds.
MISSOURI FINE ARTS ACADEMY
The Governor and the Department of Elementary
and Secondary Education recommended core
funding for the Missouri Fine Arts Academy
(and the Missouri Scholars Academy), which
was cut last year from $720,000 to $259,000.
Julie Bloodworth, the Director of the MFAA
testified before the House Appropriations
Committee for Education and stressed the
need for more state funding. She did an
excellent job explaining how the Academies
have stepped up to the state’s challenge
to add more partners in funding the Academies,
ie. Alumni support, more University support
for room and board, corporate contributions,
etc. Bloodworth explained now is not the
time for the State to remove their support
for Missouri’s best and brightest
in the arts.
MISSOURI FINE ARTS CONSULTANT
The Missouri Alliance for Arts Education
(MAAE) has partnered with high school students
from Logan-Rogersville High School, Jefferson
City High School and other Show-Me schools
across the state to develop a bill to fund
fine arts education consultants in each
of 11 Regional Professional Development
Centers located across the state. The role
of the fine arts education consultants will
be to provide professional development services
to strengthen fine arts programs and to
assist schools in implementing arts integration
lessons and strategies in non-arts classes
in Missouri public schools.
Representative Bob Dixon, R-Springfield,
has filed House Bill 1274, and Senator David
Pearce, R-Warrensburg, has filed Senate
Bill 734, to push for a Fine Arts Consultant
in the RPDCs. The Senate Education Committee
held a hearing this week on SB734. Pearce
and MAAE Executive Director Deb Fisher,
and three fine arts students did an excellent
job explaining to the committee the need
for more arts instruction in curriculum
for our teachers. There was no vote taken
on the legislation.
ADVOCACY
As you can see, the arts are in this budgetary
fight with the rest of the state. Legislators
must hear from you and your members regarding
how you are best serving their constituents
with your arts grant. We are thankful that
Governor Nixon recommended the $3 million
instead of zero. However, our work is not
finished.
Please join Missouri Citizens for the Arts
in advocating for the FY2011 appropriation.
Please write you legislator and thank them
for last year’s appropriation. Stress
to them the need for continued support.
Explain how your MAC grant gives back to
your community.
Invite Legislators to your performances,
gallery openings, classroom, etc. And get
your picture with them to put in your newsletter,
showbill, website, or local newspaper to
show their support for the Arts (it’s
harder for them to vote against us after
you have published their picture in support!!)
Come to the Capitol on Wednesday, February
10, 2010 to show your support with other
statewide arts advocates for Missouri Citizens
for the Arts Citizens’ Day at the
Legislature.
October
29, 2009 Report
On
Wednesday, October 28, Missouri Gov. Jay
Nixon announced an additional $204 million
in spending cuts to the fiscal 2010 budget
in response to declining state revenue.
The cuts include 200 full-time jobs, 450
part-time jobs, $20 million for state building
maintenance and repair, $15.8 million for
K-12 school transportation, $13 million
for life science research grants, $11.2
million from a fund for retiree health care
benefits, $9 million for one-time and pilot
mental health projects, $8.8 million for
broadband Internet efforts and another $4.4
million from the Missouri Arts Council.
Already this year, the Nixon administration
had made $430 million in spending cuts to
the state's $23.7 billion budget.
Year-to-date net general revenue collections
have dropped 10 percent from last year,
to $1.7 billion from $1.9 billion.
Net general revenue collections for September
decreased 16 percent to $648.7 million,
down from $774.7 million in September 2008.
Missouri recently borrowed another $150
million from its budget reserve fund to
pay bills and the salaries of government
workers, mostly teachers.
That brings this year's total borrowing
to $325 million since the fiscal year started
July 1. The state's $510 million rainy day
fund has $170 million left to last until
June 30, 2010.
What does this mean for Missouri
Arts Council grant recipients?
Fortunately, the Arts Council has the ability
to take money from the Missouri Arts Council
Cultural Trust Fund. The fund was created
by income tax paid by non-resident professional
athlete and entertainers. The $4.4 million
expenditure restriction will be covered
by the fund; therefore, there will be no
cuts this fiscal year on arts council grants
that were awarded in July.
However, the arts community MUST take a
pro-active advocacy stance to prepare for
the 2010 legislative session. Please contact
your state representative and state senator
and inform them of how your arts grant is
being spent in their district. Make sure
you are able to tell your elected officials
how your arts organization serves their
constituency.
Thank your legislator for their continued
support for Missouri Arts Council funding.
Stay involved with Missouri Citizens for
the Arts to get the latest action alerts
on House and Senate Committee votes and
actions taken that will affect arts funding.
If you have questions, please do not hesitate
to contact MCA lobbyist Kyna Iman at 314.651.1185.
LAST SESSION
GENERAL
ASSEMBLY WRAPS UP SESSION
The last week of session saw the usual cobbling
together of omnibus bills by conference
committees, many of which did not make it
past the Friday, 6:00 p.m. deadline for
adjournment. Hefty bills relating to local
government, judicial reform and health care
reform were among those bills that did not
pass. Legislation relating to economic development
that was a priority for the Republican-controlled
legislature and Democratic Governor Jay
Nixon was finally passed on the final day
of session.
HOUSE BILL 299 - MISSOURI ARTS
COUNCIL LEGISLATION
This bill removes the $10 million appropriation
limit per fiscal year to the Missouri Arts
Council from the estimate of state revenues
from the nonresident professional athletes
and entertainers' tax. This was being misinterpreted
as a cap on MAC's spending authority. The
legislation was approved overwhelmingly
by the House (151 - 3) and unanimously by
the Senate (29 - zero).
BUDGET
Passage of the $23 billion state budget
that includes an infusion of $785 million
from federal stimulus monies to avoid deep
cuts to the state's operating budget. HB
22, which contains $381 million in expenditures
from federal stimulus funds, also passed.
The bill specifies a number of projects
to be funded, including $112 million for
an interoperability emergency communications
system for emergency responders, $50 million
in incentives for future jobs growth at
two Missouri-based battery manufacturing
companies; $12 million for St. Louis mass
transit; $36 million for construction of
a new cancer facility at the University
of Missouri-Columbia; and over $120 million
in capital improvement projects for higher
education institutions. Governor Jay Nixon
has indicated that he may use his line-item
veto power in regard to the bill.
House Bill 7 contains funding for the Missouri
Arts Council. The Council took a five percent
cut as well as our cultural partners. Our
General Revenue of $500,000 was also cut.
Although, we hated to take any cuts, given
the economic climate, MCA appreciates the
legislature's leadership in not making deeper
cuts to the arts. House Bill 21 contains
$400,000 of funding for the Missouri Arts
Council from the federal budget stabilization
funding. MAC is working on new guidelines
on how this money will be distributed throughout
the state.
The 2010 fiscal year begins July 1, 2009.
HOUSE BILL 870 - FINE ARTS EDUCATION
House Bill 870 which would have required
the Division of School Improvement within
the Department of Elementary and Secondary
Education to develop a program to have a
fine arts education consultant available
at each regional professional development
center did not pass. Language in the bill
would have defined that the duties of the
consultant include, but are not limited
to, working with school districts to develop
fine arts staff and curriculum, coordinating
services from other entities involved in
fine arts education and integration, and
contributing to in- service training.
MCA worked with members of the Missouri
Alliance for Arts Education to get language
drafted and introduced this session that
we can continue to work on during the Interim.
Given the current fiscal climate in the
state, it may be difficult to reach final
passage unless we find a creative funding
source. We will continue to increase our
list of legislative sponsors for the proposed
legislation.
ACADEMIES
The House and Senate Conference Committee
wacked the Missouri Scholars Academy and
the Missouri Fine Arts Academy for FY2010
- this is NOT this year's academies - it's
2010. They budgeted $259,000 for BOTH academies
- down from $720,000 last year. GAM leaders
are working with the Governor's office to
seek supplemental funds to make up for the
cuts prior to next year's academies. If
you live in Rep. Icet (Wildwood) or Sen.
Nodler's (Joplin) districts, they need to
receive a phone call stating frustration
with their belief that the academies are
"simply fun summer camps". This
is just NOT true. It is an extraordinary
learning experience for over 500 of Missouri's
best and brightest students.
BY THE NUMBERS
·Days in the legislative session:
74
·Number of bills and resolutions
introduced: 1,918
·Number of bills and resolutions
passed: 164
·Total state budget for next year:
$23,110,136,177
·Number of Democrats in the legislature:
85
·Number of Republicans in the legislature:
112
·Funding for elementary and secondary
education: $5,424,286,721 ·Funding
for higher education: $1,308,066,588
·Funding for social services: $9,579,578,055
Governor Jay Nixon (D) told reporters
that he was generally pleased with the session
and that "You bet we scored this session.
The extra point may have been blocked, but
we scored a touchdown". Nixon was referring
to the failure of the legislature to pass
his health care reform measure that would
have provided increased insurance coverage
to 35,000 low- income parents and children.
If you would like the full text of a bill
or a bill summary, they will be posted at
www.moga.mo.us
as they become available.
LEGISLATIVE
DIRECTORIES
MCA encourages you to continue to communicate
with your elected officials about public
funding for the arts.
To help make this easier for you, free Missouri
Legislative Directories are available by
requesting a copy from Cristina Garcia at
mo4arts@swbell.net
Please include your complete name and address
for delivery.
MISSOURI
LEGISLATORS CAN BE REACHED
IN JEFFERSON CITY BY CONTACTING THE
CAPITOL SWITCHBOARD AT 573-751-2000.