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.

/strong

/strong

NEWS UPDATE:

1. HB1274: The Roll-call vote in the House Finance Committee was 20-4 to defeat Representative Vaillancourt’s attempt to re-introduce his original language to the bill, which would have eliminated the Department of Cultural Resources and move several of its divisions to other state departments. HB1274 is now concerned with funding for the McAuliffe/Shepard Discovery Center and it should pass the House.

The vote was as follows:

YES to defeat the Vaillancourt amendment: Kurk, Rodeschin, Belvin, Garcia, Smith, Sova, Umberger, Keane, McGuire, Simard, Twombley, Worsman, Foose, Nordgren, Baroody, Benn, Lerandeau, Rosenwald, Ober, Weyler

NO: Vaillancourt, Allen, Elliott, Barry

This is a significant victory for the arts and economic development community! Thanks to all who contacted legislators, attended hearings, and in other ways participated in this advocacy success.

2. HB1285: The Roll-call vote in House Finance was 15-9 to send this bill to Interim Study. The bill would have eliminated the State Art Fund, which adds ½ of 1 % to a state building’s construction budget for artwork, through a process managed by the Division of Cultural Resources. If sent to Interim Study, the bill will not be brought up again until sometime next year.

YES to send the bill to interim study: Belvin, Umberger, Keane, Sommard, Barry, Allen, Trombley, Foos, Nordgren, Baroody, Benn, Lorendo, Rosenwald, Ober, Weyler

NO: Kurk, Rodechin, Elliott, Vaillancourt, Garcia, Smith, Sova, McGuire, Vorstman

What’s Next:

1. Both bills will go to the House Floor for a final vote on Wednesday, March 28th. We are urging the House to support both recommendations from the Finance Committee. If so, only HB1274 in its present state will move on to the Senate.

2. Stay tuned for an update on when the bills are scheduled to be heard.

3. Please take the time to thank your representative if he/she is on the Finance Committee and voted in our favor! Also, please contact your representative(s), even if they are not on the Finance Committee, to ask that they vote YES to accept the Finance Committee’s recommendations on both bills next week. Contact information for legislators is below.

HOUSE FINANCE COMMITTEE ROSTER
Kenneth Weyler, Chair (r), Kingston
Lynne Ober, Vice-Chair (r), Hudson
Karen Umberger (r), Kearsarge
Neal Kurk (r), Weare
Larry Emerton (r), Goffstown
Beverly Rodeschin (r), Newport
William Belvin (r), Amherst
Robert Elliott (r), Salem
Steve Vaillancourt (r), Manchester
Mary Allen (r), Newton
Marilinda Garcia (r), Salem
Richard Barry (r), Merrimack
John Cebrowski (r), Bedford
William Smith (r), New Castle
Charles Sova (r), Orange
Thomas Keane (r), Bow
Dan McGuire (r), Epsom
Paul Simard (r), Briston
Timothy Twombly (r), Nashua
Colette Worsman (r), Meredith
Sharon Nordgren (d), Hanover
Benjamin Baroody (d), Manchester
Bernard Benn (d), Hanover
Robert Foose (d), New London
Alfred Lerandeau (d), Keene
Cindy Rosenwald (d), Nashua

To send an email to the whole Finance Committee, use this address:
housefinancecommittee@leg.state.nh.us.

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. It is particularly effective to contact reps by phone if you are from their legislative district.

strongbr /

/strong

/strong

a title=”Email House Finance Committee” href=”http://housefinancecommittee@leg.state.nh.us” target=”_blank”

HB 1274, which originally proposed abolishing the Department of Cultural Affairs and the Division on the Arts, was changed to a bill that dealt only with support for the McAuliffe/Shepard Discovery Center.  On  Friday, March 9, the Division II sub-committee of the House Finance Committee voted unanimously not to accept an amendment to restore the original language of the bill.  The sub-committee’s recommendation goes back to the full Finance Committee on March 20, and then to the full House for a final vote on the 27th or the 28th. We expect the original sponsor will try to get the abolishing language placed back in the bill, but so far the votes are tending our way.

HB 1285,a bill to repeal the Arts Fund, known as the Percent for Art Program, had been approved by the Executive Departments & Administration Committee 8-7 and passed the House floor vote.  The bill was subsequently sent to the Finance Committee.  On Monday, March 12,  the Division I sub-committee of House Finance voted 7-1 to send it to interim study, which would delay any further consideration until sometime next year. The full Finance Committee also votes on this recommendation on the 20th, with a vote in the House the following week.

Both of the sub-committee recommendations are encouraging.  We will inform you of any further action that may be necessary after the Finance Committee vote on the 20th.

/strong

HB1274 and HB1285 both had public hearings before the House Finance Committee on February 21, and subsequently were sent to House Finance sub-committees for work sessions on Thursday, February 23rd. The amended version of HB1274 (now pertaining only to the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center) will be discussed by House Finance Division 2 at 1 pm in LOB 212, and HB1285 will be discussed by House Finance Division 1 at 1:30 in LOB 210-211. Recommendations are expected to come from the Division meetings to the full Finance Committee, which will take final votes in an Executive Session on Tuesday, March 20 at 11:00 am in room 210-211. Work sessions and Executive Sessions are open to the public but do not take public testimony.

DETAILS:

HB1274: This bill emerged from the House ED&A Committee stripped of its original language to abolish the Department of Cultural Resources and amended to make the McAuliffe Shepard Discovery Center a private operation. The Committee voted 15-0 “ought to pass,” and it passed as amended on the House Floor. Yesterday, the bill’s original sponsor, Steve Vaillancourt, who sits on the Finance Committee, asked that the bill be re-amended to put back the original language. Our hope is that because the ED&A Committee voted unanimously on the policy aspect of the original bill, Finance will not want to go back to the original language.

HB1285: Our position: Ought to Fail. This bill is still vulnerable. The ED&A Committee voted 8-7 that the bill ought to pass, which would eliminate the State Art Fund (Percent for Art Program). The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Dan McGuire, spoke to the bill and  did not seem to have a good understanding of how the program works.  After testimony from several people who described the State Art Fund program in detail, it was difficult to judge how many committee members would vote to keep the Fund in place. (Download a PDF of State Art Fund FAQs here.)

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE FINANCE COMMITTEE?

Both these bills will go back for a full House Floor vote, presumably shortly after the Committee’s Executive Session on March 20. Stay tuned!

WHAT YOU CAN DO!

1. Send an email to the whole Finance Committee at: housefinancecommittee@leg.state.nh.us.

2. Contact information for individual legislators, including phone numbers and email, is available through the State government web site at: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/committees/standingcommittees.aspx. Click on the Finance Committee list to find individual legislator contact links. It is particularly effective to contact reps by phone if you are from their legislative district.

3. Download a PDF of State Art Fund FAQ’s and check for additional information on both bills under Talking Points on this site.

HOUSE FINANCE COMMITTEE ROSTER

Kenneth Weyler, Chair (r), Kingston

Lynne Ober, Vice-Chair (r), Hudson

Karen Umberger (r), Kearsarge

Neal Kurk (r), Weare

Larry Emerton (r), Goffstown

Beverly Rodeschin (r), Newport

William Belvin (r), Amherst

Robert Elliott (r), Salem

Steve Vaillancourt (r), Manchester

Mary Allen (r), Newton

Marilinda Garcia (r), Salem

Richard Barry (r), Merrimack

John Cebrowski (r), Bedford

William Smith (r), New Castle

Charles Sova (r), Orange

Thomas Keane (r), Bow

Dan McGuire (r), Epsom

Paul Simard (r), Briston

Timothy Twombly (r), Nashua

Colette Worsman (r), Meredith

Sharon Nordgren (d), Hanover

Benjamin Baroody (d), Manchester

Bernard Benn (d), Hanover

Robert Foose (d), New London

Alfred Lerandeau (d), Keene

Cindy Rosenwald (d), Nashua

HOW YOU CAN HELP:

1. Contact your Representatives! If your Representative sits on the House Finance Committee, contact him or her, preferably by phone, before Tuesday and let him or her know your position on these bills. Then please let us know, at Contact NHCFA, how your Representative responded. See a list of Finance Committee members below.

2. Attend the hearings!   HB1274 will be heard at 1 pm, immediately followed at 1:30 pm by HB1285. We have several key speakers chosen for each bill, but feel free to turn in written testimony. We believe that the Committee will be more favorable to our position if we do not inundate them with oral testimony, but having a significant turn-out is very important!

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

HB1274: Our position: Ought to Pass.

This bill emerged from the House ED&A Committee stripped of its original language to abolish the Department of Cultural Resources and amended to make the McAuliffe Shepard Discovery Center a private operation. The Committee voted 15-0 “ought to pass,” and it passed as amended on the House Floor. The bill moves to the Finance Committee with a new fiscal note. However, the bill’s original sponsor, Steve Vaillancourt, who sits on the Finance Committee, may ask that bill be re-amended to put back the original language. Our hope is that because the ED&A Committee voted unanimously on the policy aspect of the original bill, Finance will not want to go back to the original language.

HB1285: Our position: Ought to Fail.

This bill is vulnerable. The ED&A Committee voted 8-7 that the bill ought to pass, which would eliminate the State Art Fund (Percent for Art Program). We believe that the State Art Fund gives the state an efficient and equitable process for commissioning meaningful artwork for state buildings, and sets up a rigorous and effective process for selecting the artwork that includes citizen input.   (For more information, go to Talking Points and click on the pdf  FAQs-The State Art Fund at the top of the page.)

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE FINANCE COMMITTEE?

Both these bills will go back for a full House Floor vote. If a bill passes the House, it will go on to the Senate at the end of March. Once in the Senate, there will be one or more Senate Committee hearings and full Senate vote. Stay tuned!

Thank you to everyone for all the work done this far. We’ve been effective in reaching legislators and explaining the importance of the Department of Cultural Resources and the State Art Fund and WE CAN WIN! We’ve seen a clear indication that legislators listen to economic arguments and to the voices of their constituents.

Contact information for each legislator, including phone numbers and email, is available through the NH government web site at http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/members/memberslookup.aspx.

It is particularly effective to contact reps by phone if you are from their legislative district!

HOUSE FINANCE COMMITTEE ROSTER

Kenneth Weyler, Chair (r), Kingston

Lynne Ober, Vice-Chair (r), Hudson

Karen Umberger (r), Kearsarge

Neal Kurk (r), Weare

Larry Emerton (r), Goffstown

Beverly Rodeschin (r), Newport

William Belvin (r), Amherst

Robert Elliott (r), Salem

Steve Vaillancourt (r), Manchester

Mary Allen (r), Newton

Marilinda Garcia (r), Salem

Richard Barry (r), Merrimack

John Cebrowski (r), Bedford

William Smith (r), New Castle

Charles Sova (r), Orange

Thomas Keane (r), Bow

Dan McGuire (r), Epsom

Paul Simard (r), Bristol

Timothy Twombly (r), Nashua

Colette Worsman (r), Meredith

Sharon Nordgren (d), Hanover

Benjamin Baroody (d), Manchester

Bernard Benn (d), Hanover

Robert Foose (d), New London

Alfred Lerandeau (d), Keene

Cindy Rosenwald (d), Nashua

#  #  #  #

HB1274 (as amended, to make the McAuliffe Shepard Discovery Center a private entity): ought to pass, voice vote.

The bill now goes to the House Finance Committee. We expect the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Steve Vaillancourt, will request that the original language of the bill, to eliminate the Department of Cultural Resources, should be re-introduced.

HB1285 (to eliminate the State Art Fund, aka the Percent for Art Program): ought to pass, 214 – 108.

This bill also goes to House Finance. Both Rep. Spec Bowers and Rep. Dan Carol McGuire of the House Executive Departments and Administration Committee, which originally heard testimony on HB1285, spoke for passing the bill,  Rep. Randall Whitehead (R, Nashua, Ward 5), also an ED&A Committee member, spoke on why it should not pass.

ACTION SUGGESTED:  Nashua constituents of Rep. Whitehead  should write or email him to thank him for his support of the State Art Fund.  (Mailing address: 20 Palisade Drive, Nashua 03062; email: randall.whitehead@leg.state.nh.us.)

WHAT’S NEXT: Once the bills are scheduled for a Finance Committee hearing, we will send out an update. It is not clear whether the hearing will take public testimony or be an executive session.

A LONG SEASON:

The Legislative season is only just underway. Once the bills finish up in the House Finance Committee, they will come back to the House floor for a final vote. At the end of March, all House bills will cross over to the Senate and will get hearings in the appropriate Senate Committees. Once through the Senate Committees, the bills will go before the full Senate for a vote.  Any discrepancies in the bills between the House versions and the Senate versions will eventually be worked out in a Conference Committee at the end of the Legislative Session.

Stay with us through June — these bills will  be alive until then.  And each step of the way, each contact we make with legislators, we build awareness and support for the arts!

HB1274 and HB1285 are moving rapidly through the legislative process.  Both bills will come up for a vote on the House floor this Wednesday, February 1.  Contact your Representatives to urge passage of HB1274 as amended and to oppose HB1285.

HB1274:

House ED&A Committee Report:  Ought to Pass as Amended, 15-0.

NHCFA position:  YES, Ought to Pass as Amended. In Executive Session, the ED&A Committee stripped HB1274 of its original language abolishing the Department of Cultural Resources (DCR), and replaced the bill with language to change the funding structure of the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center (approved by the Discovery Center).

What Might Happen on the Floor:

Because the ED&A Committee voted unanimously to strip all language in relation to abolishing the DCR, we feel there is a chance this bill will go through as amended and supported by the Committee.  However, it would still be helpful for all of us to email our Representatives to make sure they understand that the bill should be passed AS IS, and as recommended by the committee, and that they should not support any motion from the floor to re-insert the bill’s original language.

HB1285:

House ED&A Committee Report:  Ought to Pass, 8-7.

NHCFA Position:  NO, we oppose this bill.

What Might Happen on the Floor:

This bill repeals the State Art Fund, also known as the Percent for Art program.  The ED&A Committee voted “Ought to Pass” in its report, 8-7.  The bill will likely pass the House unless we all speak up and better explain the Percent for Art program to our Representatives. Though the Committee vote was extremely close, there is still not a clear understanding among legislators of the benefits of a dedicated fund for appropriating artwork for state buildings, or of how this program works.

TAKE ACTION!

1.  Call or email your Representatives and urge them a) to pass HB1274 as amended, with no re-introduction of the original language; and b) to oppose HB1285.

2.  Give details of why HB1285 ought NOT to pass by including an explanation of why the State Art Fund (Percent for Art program) is good for New Hampshire.  (Find more under Talking Points.)

3.  Link to the State’s website for legislative addresses.  You can also locate who your representatives are here: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/members/wml.aspx.  Once you’ve located your Rep., email your letter to him or her.

4.  Link to more information on the Percent for Art program is here: http://www.nh.gov/nharts/programservices/percentforart.htm.

5.  To stay abreast of legislative activity related to the arts, visit the NH  State Council on the Arts webpage: http://www.nh.gov/nharts/aboutus/2012nhlegupdates_arts.html

OTHER LEGISLATION

HB1669:

The House Finance Committee met on January 26 and heard lots of testimony in opposition to HB1669, a bill “requiring the deposit of dedicated fun revenues into the general fund the the 2014 and 2015 fiscal years and requiring non-constitutionally establish dedicated funds to be eliminated on June 30, 2015 unless reinstated by the legislature.”  Only the bill’s sponsors spoke in favor.  Among those speaking in opposition were several state Commissioners, the State Treasurer, and Rep. Weyler, Chair of the House Finance Committee.

This bill would effectively eliminate the State Art Fund (HB1285, above) and the cultural conservation grant program (funded through Moose Plates).  We will keep you updated on what happens to the bill and what impact it could have on arts dollars.

/p

HIGHLIGHTS

HB 1274: Everyone who testified opposed  HB 1274 except the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Steve Vaillancourt.  Testimony was given from representatives of the Nashua, Dover, Manchester, Rochester and greater Concord Chambers of Commerce.  Other business leaders spoke about the important economic impact of cultural dollars to cities including Portsmouth, Concord and Nashua, and the role that the Department of Cultural Resources plays in efficiently preserving New Hampshire’s cultural heritage and promoting its cultural resources.

Artists who make a living through their art as sole-proprietor businesses spoke eloquently about the role of the NH State Council on the Arts in providing an infrastructure for entrepreneurial training and residency programs statewide and for its small grant programs.  Students from the Bishop Brady High School in Concord championed the Poetry Out Loud (POL) program, in which nearly 10,000 NH high school students participated last year.  POL is a program administered by the NH State Council on the Arts with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.  The State Arts Council and all of its NEA funding would be eliminated through HB 1274.

HB1285: Thoughtful testimony addressed the sponsor’s concern that dedicated funds are a poor funding mechanism for state government.  Testimony was presented that countered the argument that art for state buildings should be a line-item in an appropriation budget, instead of  funded through the State’s capital budget. The current legislation establishing the State Art Fund (Percent for Art program), ensures that artwork to enhance state building projects is carefully conceived and selected through a Site Selection process that includes the building’s users, planners, and members of the public.  Funds are also provided for conservation and preservation of the artwork in later years.

WHAT’S NEXT:

The ED&A Committee will meeting in Executive Session this Wednesday, January 25, at 12:30 in LOB 306 to discuss both bills. The session is open to the public, but no public testimony is allowed.   The Committee uses this time to discuss each bill and decide whether to pass it (in which case it would be sent on to the House Finance Committee), to recommend that it go to study (with a sub-committee appointed to further investigate the ramifications of the bill), or vote it Inexpedient to Legislate.

As soon as we learn how the Committee votes on the bills, we will update the web site and send out an email Alert.  If either bill goes forward, we will continue to contact House representatives so if the bills reach the House floor for a full vote, they will not pass.

We were very successful in the first round of opposing this destructive legislation!  The arts and business community rallied to show strong support for keeping the Department of Cultural Resources intact and for preserving the small, dedicated fun for public art in state buildings.  Thank you to everyone who reached out to arts advocates, teachers, students and business professionals, to everyone who submitted testimony, and to everyone who attending the hearings!

On Friday, January 20, members of the House Executive Departments and Administration (EDWe were very successful in the first round of opposing this destructive legislation!  The arts and business community rallied to show strong support for keeping the Department of Cultural Resources intact and for preserving the small, dedicated fun for public art in state buildings.  Thank you to everyone who reached out to arts advocates, teachers, students and business professionals, to everyone who submitted testimony, and to everyone who attending the hearings!

This new schedule is an advantage for us since it makes it easier for people to stay through both hearings.  We encourage you to arrive for the first hearing by 12:45.  We will have people outside the committee room to sign you in and to identify those who are planning to speak!

Thank you to the many people who have already submitted letters to their Representatives and to those who have already planned to attend and to testify at the hearings.  We urge you to join us again on the 20th!  We are confident that we can make a strong case before the House Executive Departments and Administration Committee in opposition to these Bills.  A good turnout of arts supporters will make a difference!

More about these Bills follow and further information is available at Talking Points.  Please continue to contact your Legislators in opposition to the misguided legislation.

URGENT ADVOCACY ALERT!!

The House Executive Departments and Administration Committee (ED&A) will meet on Friday, January 20, to consider two bills that either drastically reduce or eliminate state funding for the arts. Please help us defeat this bills in committee by 1) writing your own representative (particularly if he/she is a member of the ED&A Committee), and 2) planning to attend the hearings.  Our goal is to have at least 100 people at the hearings!

1.  Friday, January 20, 1:15 pm, LOB Room 306.  Hearing for HB 1274: A bill to abolish the Department of Cultural Resources (introduced by Rep. Steve Vaillancourt, Hillsborough 15). This bill would eliminate the office of the Commissioner and the State Arts Council (Division of the Arts), and move the Division of Historical Resources and the State Library to the NH Dept. of State, and the Film and TV Office to the NH Dept. of Resources and Economic Development.

2.  Friday, January 20, 2:00 pm, LOB Room 306.  Hearing for HB 1285: A bill to repeal the State Art Fund (introduced by Rep. Dan McGuire, Merrimack 8). The State Art Fund, also called the Percent for Art Program, allocates 1/2 of 1% of a state-owned building project budget for artwork to enhance the finished building.

ACTION NEEDED TODAY!

1.  Plan to attend both of the hearings, where you will be able to sign up in opposition to the bills. NHCFA has recruited people individually to give testimony at the hearings, but you are welcome to bring written testimony to turn in (20 copies).

2.  In the next 48 hours, email a short message in opposition to the bills.  Email the Committee via the Chairman Carol McGuire at www.carolmcguire4house.com, with  “For the House Executive Departments and Administration Committee” in the Subject Line.  It is particularly important to contact a committee member individually if you are from their legislative district. A list of the Committee members, with contact information, is posted on this web site at NH State Government.

3.  If your rep is not on the Ed&A Committee, please write directly to your own representatives to urge them to oppose these Bills if they come up for a vote before the entire House. To find individual NH State Representatives, click here.  Urge them 1) not to abolish the Department of Cultural Resources and eliminate the Arts Council; and 2) not to repeal the State Art Fund (Percent for Art Program).

Note about the committee process: These committee hearings are the first step in what could be a months-long process.  We need to show broad opposition to these bills early in the game so they do not move beyond a committee hearing.  Although the committee does not have to allow more than 15-30 minutes for testimony, they may let more people testify if we’ve got a large show of support.  In any case, the committee will definitely take note if there are many people present at the hearing in opposition to the bills.  Help us reach our goal of at least 100 people at these two hearings!

If these bills pass out of committee with a recommendation for additional hearings later in the session, we will call on you again to come to Concord and speak with a solid arts voice for public funding for the arts in NH.

Thank you for your extraordinary efforts to save the State Arts Council (Division of the Arts)!

We will continue to update this web site and our Arts Alerts for information pertaining to the hearings, so please check back.

It is particularly important to contact a committee member individually if you are from their legislative district.