BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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Date of Hearing: April 7, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT, SPORTS, TOURISM, AND
INTERNET MEDIA
Ian Charles Calderon, Chair
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(Calderon) - As Introduced March 17, 2015
SUBJECT: Arts Council: funding.
SUMMARY: Would declare the importance of the arts to the state
and the essential role of the Arts Council in promoting the arts
throughout the state, and urge a unified effort between the
Legislature and the Governor to provide a substantial increase
in the General Fund appropriation to the California Arts Council
(CAC). Specifically, this Resolution makes the following
findings:
1)Since the 1970s, the Arts Council, also known as the
California Arts Council, has served the state by strategically
promoting increased access to the arts for all Californians,
particularly for residents living in communities that lack
sufficient and convenient opportunities to experience the
benefits of the arts in their lives.
2)In the past, the state appropriated funds that could
meaningfully support the programs of the Arts Council.
However, beginning in 2003, the annual funding of the Arts
Council from the General Fund drastically dropped, and since
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that time, the funding has remained essentially flat at a
$1,000,000 annual appropriation, making California one of the
lowest ranked states to invest in the arts on a per capita
basis. The programs of the Arts Council that once reached
rural towns, underserved urban neighborhoods, prisons, and
schools have either been depleted or discontinued entirely.
3)The arts invigorate the state and national economies. The
creative sector has become one of the state's most important
drivers of economic growth. The 2013 OTIS Report on the
Creative Economy, analyzing the economic impact of the
creative economy in the state, concluded that 9.7 percent of
jobs in the state are connected, directly or indirectly, to
the creative industries. A recent report by the U.S. Bureau of
Economic Analysis concluded that the arts and culture sector
represent 3.2 percent of the nation's gross domestic product
in 2011.
4)The arts bolster small and large businesses and the nonprofit
sector. Local merchants directly benefit when people attend
art events in their community because attendees make purchases
related to the event, including, among other things, meals and
parking. Nationally, in 2011, exports outside the United
States of art-related goods, including, but not limited to,
movies, paintings, and jewelry, substantially increased and
resulted in a trade surplus within the arts industry. The
national nonprofit arts industry annually generates billions
in economic activity and provides millions of jobs.
5)The arts increase tourism and travel. Arts travelers are ideal
tourists, staying longer and spending more to seek out
authentic cultural experiences than other types of travelers.
Reports show that the percentage of international travelers
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visiting museums and attending concerts and theater
performances have steadily grown since 2003.
6)The arts spark creativity and innovation in the workforce.
Creativity is recognized as one of the top five applied
employee skills sought by business leaders. Nobel laureates in
the sciences are 17 times more likely to be actively engaged
in the arts than other scientists.
7)The arts enhance our society. A recent study demonstrated that
a high concentration of the arts in a city leads to higher
civic engagement, more social cohesion, higher child welfare,
and lower poverty rates. A vibrant arts community ensures that
young people are not left to experience their society through
a pop culture and tabloid marketplace.
8)The arts improve healthcare. Nearly one-half of the nation's
healthcare institutions provide arts programming for patients,
families, and staff on the basis that art programs promote
healing in patients, resulting in shorter hospital stays,
better pain management, and less medication.
9)The arts are fundamental to our human experience. The arts
inspire us to see our human potential by fostering creativity,
goodness, and beauty. The arts help us express our values,
build bridges between cultures, and bring people together,
regardless of perceived differences in ethnicity, religion, or
age. As a well-known idiom reminds us, "[w]hen times are
tough, art is salve for the ache."
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10)The arts improve academic performance. Students with an
education rich in the arts have higher grades and standardized
test scores and lower rates of dropping out of school.
Students with four years of arts or music in high school
average 100 more points on their SAT scores than students with
just one-half of a year of arts or music. While art education
is mandated by state law, California is failing to provide a
sufficient arts education. For the past 30 years arts
education in schools has been disappearing at an alarming
rate. Between 1999 and 2004, student enrollment in music
education declined by almost half. The state's recent fiscal
crisis has resulted in still more dramatic cuts to visual and
performing arts education programs for students throughout the
state.
11)The Governor's currently proposed funding for the Arts
Council in the 2015-16 Budget Act is a total of $5,000,000, a
combination of $1,000,000 from the General Fund, $1,000,000
matching federal funds, and the remainder consisting of
revenues from a specialty license plate supporting the arts.
12)By increasing the state's investment in the arts through
funding the programs of the Arts Council in the 2015-16 Budget
Act, the Legislature and the Governor would strengthen the
ability of the Arts Council to invigorate the state and
national economies, including businesses of all sizes and the
nonprofit sector, foster creativity in the lives of people in
their workplace and communities, secure a more solid cultural
and educational experience for our children, and cultivate
healthy human lives, both physically and emotionally.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
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COMMENTS:
1)Author's statement and support.
According to the lead author Assemblymember Calderon, "ACR 46
encourages continuing the forward trend of increased funding
for the arts as an investment in a proven and powerful
catalyst for spurring local economies and for preparing
California's workforce to prosper in the global creative
economy." He adds, "California's cultural enterprises provide
more than 1.4 million jobs for Californians or 7.8% of total
employment; in addition California's non-profit arts
specifically contribute more than $13 billion to the state's
economy. The arts are a key partner to the creative
industries, encourage creativity, help prepare students and
workers to compete in the 21st Century global economy, attract
creative workers and industries of all kinds, stimulate the
economy, engage residents, provide a sense of community,
celebrating diversity and building bridges, understanding, and
draw tourists and visitors.
"Despite their strong contribution to the state, with the
single exception of 2014, California has ranked last among all
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the states in per capita investment in the arts - allocating
just $1 million from the general fund annually - since 2003.
This adds up to a mere three cents per person annually. Last
year was a bright spot and we hoped the beginning of moving
back toward our rightful place as the leader among states in
support for the arts, when the Assembly approved $10 million
dollars in our budget proposal, and the Governor signed the
Conference Committee compromise amount of $6 million into the
budget. This forward progress must be maintained; the
Governor's proposal to revert back to $1 million for the CAC
is simply not acceptable."
Assemblymember Nazarian, Joint Author and strong supporter of
CAC, adds, "I am confident that if arts advocates in and out
of the Legislature keep pressing for higher funding during
this year's budget proceedings, the result ultimately should
be a spending plan that builds on the 2014 increase." He
concludes by saying, "This is something we need to speak up on
until it gets to the point that governors automatically
include the previous year's arts appropriation as a starting
point for the next round of budgeting."
Arts Orange County writes the committee to say, "Arts Orange
County wishes to express its strong support a significant
increase in general fund appropriations for the California
Arts Council. Orange County-and indeed much of our
state-depends upon creativity range from The Boeing Company to
Disneyland, from Blizzard Entertainment to Hurley, from Red
Digital Cameras to medical device companies like Allergan.
Having a healthy ecology provides the right kind of
environment for these companies to thrive and to contribute to
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California's contributing role as the world's incubator of
great ideas."
2)Background: funding for the arts.
The CAC was created in 1975 under then Governor Jerry Brown to
increase access to the arts for all Californians. The CAC
budget had grown from its first full year of funding in fiscal
year 1976-77 at $1,917,000 to $32,224,000 in fiscal year
2001-02, when 1,590 grants were awarded to non-profit arts
organizations. In 2003, appropriations to the CAC were cut by
97%, and GF appropriation from the Legislature has remained
essentially flat at $1,000,000 over the past decade. Since
2003, with the exception of last year, California has ranked
last or next to last among the states in terms of per capita
investment in the arts. However, the last two budget cycles
have seen an uptick in spending:
Funding levels for CAC in the fiscal year 2012-13 were just
over $5,000,000 broken down by source as follows:
General Fund $1,019,865
Graphic Design License Plate Account $2,782,555
National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) $1,085,687
Special Deposit: Donations $70,000
Tax Check off $324,933
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Total $5,309,540
Funding levels for CAC in the fiscal year 2013-14 were
almost $8,000,000 broken down by source as follows:
General Fund $1,082,000
Graphic Design License Plate Account $2,815,000
National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) $1,035,000
Reimbursements ($2 million from Assembly) $3,026,000
Total $7,958,000
Current funding levels for CAC in the fiscal year 2014-15
were just over $10,000,000 broken down by source as
follows:
General Fund $6,137,000
Graphic Design License Plate Account$2,889,000
National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) $1,095,000
Reimbursements $1,697,000
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Tax Check off $250,000
Total $12,068,000
3)Spending the additional money.
Recent funding discussions for the CAC have ranged in amounts
from the current base of $1million general fund contained in
the Governor's proposed budget, to $75million contained in AB
580 (Nazarian), Legis. of 2014, discussed below. One of the
major concerns is whether the agency would have sufficient
staff and programmatic capacity to effectively spend any
substantial new influx of funding. When this question was
posed to the CAC by committee staff they responded in the
affirmative, and offered as proof their use of the addition $5
million dollars allocated last year:
According to the CAC, "On June 20, 2014, the Governor signed a
state budget that includes a one-time $5 million increase in
General Fund support for the California Arts Council. This is
the first time in over ten years the arts have seen an
increase of General Fund monies, after the support for the
Council was cut by 94 percent in 2003. The $5 million
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investment from last year's budget will build on programs from
2013-14 and add new ones. The following is a list of the
programs that will be funded with the investment from last
year:
a) Creative California Communities, transforming
communities through the arts and economic development
($1,467,000);
b) Local Impact, revitalizing California's underserved and
rural communities through the arts ($1,345,000);
c) State-Local Partnership, fostering arts and cultural
development through local leadership ($400,000);
d) Statewide Networks, supporting multicultural, and
discipline-based arts networks ($375,000);
e) Poetry Out Loud, helping students master public speaking
skills and build self-confidence ($50,000);
f) JUMPstArts, supporting arts education programs for youth
in juvenile justice system ($200,000);
g) Arts on the Air, supporting original public media
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content about the arts in California ($150,000);
h) Veterans Initiative, opportunities to enrich the lives
of veterans through arts programming that is sensitive and
responsive to their unique experiences ($150,000);
i) Professional Development and Consulting, provides
opportunities for arts organizations to grow and thrive
through professional development and practical services
($100,000);
j) Creativity at the Core, placing arts at the forefront of
Common Core State Standards implementation ($150,000);
aa) Turnaround Schools, utilizing arts education strategies
to significantly improve CA's lowest performing schools
($300,000);
bb) Student Voices, digital media training and empowerment
for students ($48,000);
cc) Statewide Creative Economy Report, the Otis Report
illustrates the impact and influence of the creative sector
on the state's economy ($60,000);
dd) Statewide Creative Economy Convening, engagement and
action around creative economy issues ($50,000);
ee) China Cultural Exchange Convening, a statewide
conference devoted to state cultural exchange with China
($50,000);
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ff) City of San Jose: Building Public Will Initiative, pilot
research project ($5,000), and;
gg) OE&E: Panel Costs, personnel/consulting services, travel
($100,000).
4)Prior and Related Legislation.
a) AB 1662 (Calderon), of 2013-14 would have created an
annual continuous appropriation from the General Fund (GF)
to the California Arts Council (CAC) in an unspecified
amount, and made various legislative findings and
declarations. AB 1662 was heard and passed out of this
committee but was held in the Assembly Committee on
Appropriations on Suspense.
b) AB 580 (Nazarian), of 2013-14, substantially similar to
AB 1662, but contained an appropriation of $75 million
dollars for CAC. AB 580 was heard and passed out of this
committee but was held in the Assembly Committee on
Appropriations on Suspense.
c) SB 1432 (Lieu), of 2013-14, also substantially similar
to AB 1662, but with a $25 million dollar continuous
appropriation for CAC. SB 1432 held in Senate
Appropriations.
d) SB 571 (Price), Chapter 430, Statues of 2013, allowed
taxpayers to once again make voluntary contributions to the
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California Arts Council Fund on their state personal income
tax returns.
e) SB 1076 (Price), Chapter 319, Statutes of 2010, allowed
taxpayers to make voluntary contributions to the California
Arts Council Fund on their state personal income tax
returns. This act sunset due to failure of the CAC to reach
the statutory threshold of $250,000 in tax donations.
f) AB 700 (Krekorian), of 2009-10, would have established
the Creative Industries and Community Economic
Revitalization Fund in the State Treasury, and required
that 20% of all revenues derived from the payment of sales
and use taxes that are remitted to the State Board of
Equalization by the taxpayers engaged in specified lines of
business, as provided, be deposited in the fund. The CAC
would be authorized to expend the moneys in the fund, upon
appropriation by the Legislature, to issue grants pursuant
to the act, as specified. AB 700 was held in the Assembly
Committee on Appropriations on Suspense.
g) AB 2728 (Karnette), of 2007-08, would have required 20%
of state sales and use tax revenues derived from the sales
of specified art-related goods be deposited in the State
Treasury for allocation to the CAC once the GF achieves
structural balance. AB 2728 was held in Assembly
Appropriations Committee.
h) AB 1365 (Karnette), of 2007-08, was a substantially
similar measure to AB 2728, without the balanced budget
trigger requirement. AB 1365 was held in Assembly
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Appropriations Committee.
i) AB 655 (Leno), of 2005-06, proposed a 1% surcharge on
the price of admission to specified arts and entertainment
venues. AB 655 was held in this committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
Arts for LA
Arts Orange County
California Alliance for Arts Education
California Arts Advocates
Californians for the Arts
The Center for the Arts
Theatre West
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Opposition
There is no opposition on file.
Analysis Prepared by:Dana Mitchell / A.,E.,S.,T., & I.M. / (916)
319-3450