BILL ANALYSIS Ó ACR 46 Page 1 ASSEMBLY THIRD READING ACR 46 (Calderon and Nazarian) As Introduced March 17, 2015 Majority vote ---------------------------------------------------------------------- |Committee |Votes |Ayes |Noes | |----------------+------+----------------------+-----------------------| |Arts |6-0 |Calderon, Obernolte, | | | | |Chu, Hadley, Levine, | | | | |Nazarian | | | | | | | | | | | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: Declares the importance of the arts to the state and the essential role of the Arts Council in promoting the arts throughout the state, and urges 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 CAC, 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 ACR 46 Page 2 meaningfully support the programs of the CAC. However, beginning in 2003, the annual funding of the CAC from the General Fund drastically dropped, and since that time, the funding has remained essentially flat at a $1 million annual appropriation, making California one of the lowest ranked states to invest in the arts on a per capita basis. The programs of the CAC 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% of jobs in the state are connected, directly or indirectly, to the creative industries. A recent report by the United States Bureau of Economic Analysis concluded that the arts and culture sector represent 3.2% 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 visiting museums and attending concerts and theater performances has ACR 46 Page 3 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." 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 ACR 46 Page 4 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 CAC in the 2015-16 Budget Act is a total of $5 million, a combination of $1 million from the General Fund, $1 million 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 CACl in the 2015-16 Budget Act, the Legislature and the Governor would strengthen the ability of the CAC 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 workplaces 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. This bill is keyed fiscal by the Legislative Counsel. COMMENTS: According to the author, "Despite their strong contribution to the state, with the single exception of 2014, California has ranked last among all 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 ACR 46 Page 5 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." Assembly Member 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." Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion of the resolution. Analysis Prepared by: Dana Mitchell / A.,E.,S.,T., & I.M. / (916) 319-3450 FN: 0000103 ACR 46 Page 6