BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 55
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Date of Hearing: April 21, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT, SPORTS, TOURISM, AND
INTERNET MEDIA
Ian Charles Calderon, Chair
AB 55
(Nazarian) - As Amended March 26, 2015
SUBJECT: Arts Council: grants.
SUMMARY: This bill would continuously appropriate from the
General Fund to the Arts Council an amount each fiscal year
equal to the sum of the amount of revenue generated by the
Polanco-Bates License Plates for the Arts Act of 1993 and the
amount of private donations received by the council, as
specified. Specifically, this bill:
1)Continuously appropriates, as specified, from the General Fund
to the Arts Council an amount each fiscal year equal to the
sum of the following:
a) The amount of revenue generated by the Polanco-Bates
License Plates for the Arts Act of 1993 (Section 5074 of
the Vehicle Code) in the most recently concluded fiscal
year.
b) The amount equal to the private donations received by
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the Arts Council in the most recently concluded fiscal
year.
2)Declares that this section shall not be construed to prevent
the Legislature from appropriating additional funds to the
Arts Council.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Establishes the California Arts Council (CAC) Contribution and
Donations Fund in the State Treasury to receive funds, as
specified.
2)Provides that the monies in the fund are continuously
appropriated to the CAC.
3)Requires that the California Department of Motor Vehicles,
after deducting its administrative costs, shall deposit the
additional revenue derived from specialized license plates in
the Specialized License Plate Fund in the State Treasury.
4)Further requires that upon appropriation by the Legislature,
the monies in that fund shall be allocated to each sponsoring
agency, in proportion to the amount in the fund that is
attributable to the agency's specialized license plate
program.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
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COMMENTS:
1)Author's statement of need for legislation: New revenue
sources for the arts.
According to the author, "State matching funds will provide a
base level of support to the arts and restores funding the
California Arts Council has lost in the last decade. Further,
AB 55 recognizes the investment made by individuals by
requiring the state to match its funding level with that of
individual donations and encourages Californians to purchase a
specialized license plate and donate to the Arts Council."
"The arts provide an intellectual infrastructure for our
entire creative economy, from technology to the entertainment
industry. Just as importantly, the arts are vital to our
state's international reputation and to the quality of life
that we are very proud of as Californians. Specifically, AB 55
will empower the Arts Council to expand its grant program to
continue supporting the arts."
In response to concerns that the funding structure of the bill
could be argued to supplant the need for increased state
budget funding for the CAC, the author strongly disagrees. He
points to the language of the bill which expressly states that
it "shall not be construed to prevent the Legislature from
appropriating additional funds to the Arts Council."
Supporters agree with this interpretation and focus on the
continuous funding element of the bill, such as this from the
Californians for the Arts, "AB 55 will establish a minimum
level of continuous funding for grants used by the California
Arts Council?We are making progress in the restoration of the
state arts funding to the level of a decade ago."
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2)Current funding for the CAC.
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
Total $5,309,540
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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
Prior and related legislation.
1)AB1625 (Nazarian), Chapter 102, Statutes of 2014, established
the California Arts Council Contribution and Donations Fund in
the State Treasury to receive unrestricted gifts, donations,
bequests, or grants of funds from private sources and public
agencies for use by the CAC, as provided, and continuously
appropriated these funds to the CAC.
2)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.
3)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.
4)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.
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5)SB 571 (Price), Chapter 430, Statues of 2013, allowed
taxpayers to once again make voluntary contributions to the
California Arts Council Fund on their state personal income
tax returns.
6)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.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
California Alliance for Arts Education
California Arts Advocates
Californians for the Arts
Opposition
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There is no opposition on file.
Analysis Prepared by:Dana Mitchell / A.,E.,S.,T., & I.M. / (916)
319-3450