JOIN US TO SUPPORT THE ARTS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE!
The arts are important for the education of our children, the vitality of our towns and cities, the health of our economy, and the enjoyment of our citizens. NH Citizens for the Arts invites you to join us as an advocate for appropriate government investment in the arts: to create an atmosphere where the arts can flourish, and to strengthen opportunities for participation in the arts across our state. This web site will give you up-to-date information on legislation affecting the arts, and tools to become an effective advocate.
TAKE A BOW, ARTS ADVOCATES!
On Wednesday, March 28, the House voted on two Bills that, when first introduced in January, threatened to eliminate the Department of Cultural Resources and the State Art Fund (Percent for Art Program). After the final votes, both the Department and the Percent for Art Program remain intact.The evidence is overwhelming that these bills failed because we 1) showed up big time (with 110 people at the first public hearing) to say that public funding for the arts matters to New Hampshire and 2) provided our legislators with information and conversation that helped them better understand how arts funding works in NH state government.
THANK YOU to everyone who came to a hearing or contacted a representative or elected official! Now it’s your turn: Please thank your Representative(s) for supporting the arts (see contact information, below).
SPECIFICS OF EACH VOTE:
1. HB1274 (as amended): Transferring the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center to a private operator and making a supplemental appropriation therefore. The House voted 253-40 to adopt the Finance Committee’s recommendation that the bill Ought to Pass. With a voice vote, the bill then passed with a significantly louder cry of “Ayes” over “Nays.” Representative Steve Vaillancourt asked that the first vote be a Division (i.e., Roll-call) vote, but there were otherwise no motions or speeches from the floor and no motion made to re-introduce earlier language to eliminate the Department of Cultural Resources.
2. HB1285: Repealing the State Art Fund. The House Finance Committee’s majority recommendation was to refer to Interim Study.
The Roll-call vote was 210-76 to send the bill to Interim Study, which means that the bill will not be reconsidered until sometime next year. This is a huge success!
Discussion Details: Representative Spec Bowers of the House Executive Departments and Administration Committee (which first considered the bill) spoke against sending the bill to study; he wanted to vote to eliminate the State Art Fund. He said that the State Art Fund puts a cap on art funding for buildings and that there are curatorial dollars already available for taking care of existing art without the State Art Fund (which specifically sets aside funds for the stewardship of its existing artwork).
Representative William Belvin of the Finance Committee defended the Committee’s recommendation to send the bill to study, saying that a number of questions should be addressed before this bill is voted on. Specifically, if the Fund is immediately eliminated, are we in breach of contract with the existing monies/contracts pending in the State Art Fund? Also, we need to see exactly where the money is for stewardship of artwork if the Fund is eliminated. He said looking at how the State Art Fund works in the 26 other states that use a similar process would help us determine how best to deal with this bill and the issues it raises.
Finally, Representative Kenneth Weyler, Chair of the Finance Committee, used parliamentary procedure to ask if it wouldn’t be a good idea to send the bill to study since it wasn’t clear if the financial implications of the bill were in step with what the policy goals of the bill were.
HOW TO CELEBRATE:
1. Thank your representative(s) for voting yes on HB1274 and HB1285 and for supporting a responsible state role in arts funding and support. Contact information for legislators is below. For this purpose, it will be particularly effective to write a brief personal letter (sent via US mail), or to speak with your representative(s) by phone. If you do receive a response, please let us know via Contact Us on this website.
2. Continue to talk to friends, colleagues and elected officials about the importance of a publicly-acknowledged role for public arts funding — in support of arts education, in support of cultural tourism, and in support of making New Hampshire a meaningful place to live and raise families.
Contact information for individual legislators, including phone numbers and email, is available through the NH government web site at : http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/members/wml.aspx.
