BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 189
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Date of Hearing: April 7, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT, SPORTS, TOURISM, AND
INTERNET MEDIA
Calderon, Chair
AB
189 (Bloom) - As Introduced January 27, 2015
SUBJECT: California Arts Council: cultural districts.
SUMMARY: Directs the California Arts Council (CAC) to establish
criteria and guidelines for state-designated cultural districts.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires that the CAC establish criteria and guidelines for
state-designated cultural districts, as defined.
2)Provides that executing its powers and duties under this
chapter, the council shall do all of the following:
a) Establish a competitive application system by which a
community may apply for certification as a state-designated
cultural district.
b) Provide technical assistance and promotional support for
state-designated cultural districts.
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c) Collaborate with other public agencies and private
entities to maximize the benefits of state-designated
cultural districts.
3)Provides that initial certification as a state-designated
cultural district shall be for a period of five years.
Further provides that a certified district may renew
certification every three years after expiration of the
initial five year period.
4)Defines a, "state-designated cultural district" to mean a
geographical area certified pursuant to this chapter with a
concentration of cultural facilities, creative enterprises, or
arts venues that does any of the following:
a) Attracts artists, creative entrepreneurs, and cultural
enterprises.
b) Encourages economic development and supports
entrepreneurship in the creative community.
c) Encourages the preservation and reuse of historic
buildings and other artistic and culturally significant
structures.
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d) Fosters local cultural development.
e) Provides a focal point for celebrating and strengthening
the unique cultural identity of the community.
EXISTING LAW:
4)Creates the CAC, consisting of 11-members who serve four-year,
staggered terms. Nine members are appointed by the Governor,
subject to Senate confirmation, and the Speaker of the
Assembly and the Senate Committee on Rules appoint one member
each.
5)Directs CAC to encourage artistic awareness, participation,
and expression; to help independent local groups develop their
own arts programs; to promote employment of artists and those
skilled in crafts in the public and private sector; to provide
for exhibition of artistic works in public buildings; and, to
enlist the aid of all state agencies in the task of ensuring
the fullest expression of artistic potential.
6)Authorizes CAC to hold hearings, execute agreements, and
perform any acts necessary and proper to carry out their
designated purposes.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS:
1)Author's Statement and Support for Legislation. According
to the author, "The Creative Economy is a major
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powerhouse of jobs and revenue in California, generating
over 7% of the state's economic activity and supporting
1.4 million jobs. Whether it is music, film or visual
arts, California's creative economy has long been an
important part of our state's cultural and economic
infrastructure. Studies have shown that creative entities
and business often cluster into certain areas, likely due
to the benefits from exchanging and sharing resources,
entrepreneurial dialogue, and economic activity. These
clusters are often well-loved parts of cities and can be
found throughout the state.
"AB 189 would allow the California Arts Council to
designate these kinds of areas as official California
Cultural Districts. Establishing state-designated
cultural districts will help to draw more tourism and
commerce to these creative clusters. Almost three
quarters of "leisure travel" in the U.S. is spent on arts
and cultural experiences. Establishing cultural district
will create resources for this sector of the tourism
industry and would be very beneficial to local economies.
Other states, such as Maryland, have successfully
implemented their own cultural district programs and seen
noticeable economic benefits for the designated areas.
Arts and cultural districts in other states have spurred
new business, increased community interaction, attracted
more tourism, and increased government revenue based on
the economic growth.
"The California Arts Council is the ideal state agency to
administer a cultural districts program. The main focus
of the council is to advance California through the arts
and creativity, a mission that aligns with the intended
purpose of cultural districts. The agency is familiar
with thousands of nonprofits and supports a network of
local arts agencies and arts support organizations. The
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Council works closely with other state and local agencies
on arts and culture subjects and promotes workforce
development in the creative economy. Therefore, the
Council is well equipped to help future districts reach
their full potential. Almost all states with arts and
cultural districts programs have designated their state
arts agency as the lead for their programs. Through
technical support provided by the Council, the California
Cultural Districts program has the potential to
significantly increase tourism and encourage commerce in
creative communities."
The California Arts Council states the following in
strong support, "AB 189 would authorize and direct the
Arts Council to establish criteria and guidelines for a
program of state-designated cultural districts. The bill
would require the council to establish a competitive
application system for certification, provide technical
and promotional support for certified state-designated
cultural districts, and collaborate with public agencies
and private entities to maximize the benefits of
state-designated cultural districts. State arts agencies
have a potentially unique role in identifying and
cultivating creative places and neighborhoods in a
variety of areas across a state. Recognition of locations
in both urban and rural settings allows the California
Arts Council to strategically cultivate and encourage
cultural growth from a regional and local perspective.
"The requirements and procedures for certifying districts
vary from state to state and may be defined in enabling
legislation. However, the enabling legislation for the
California Arts Council, Government Code Section
8750-8756, is devoid of this language, and this
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legislation will clarify and name the California Arts
Council as the agency responsible for establishing and
implementing this program."
2)Background.
a) California Arts Council. The Californian Arts Council
was created in 1975 under then Governor Jerry Brown to
increase access to the arts for all Californians. Over the
course of 25 years, the CAC's impact grew especially
through efforts that brought arts programming to
underserved communities and populations across the state
(such as rural communities, inner city neighborhoods,
prisons and schools). Examples of programs the CAC has
offered over the years include:
Artists in Schools - Support for arts organizations
that partner with schools and/or school districts to
facilitate artists-in-residence activities in the
classroom and after-school programs.
Creating Public Value - Support for arts
organizations in rural or underserved areas to implement
projects making a positive contribution to their
communities.
Statewide Service Networks - Support for
discipline-based arts service organizations and statewide
arts networks to strengthen their constituencies and
promote the public value of the arts in their
communities.
State-Local Partnership - Support for local arts
agencies designated by county boards of supervisors to
provide arts in local communities.
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My California Story Slam - Encourages educators to
explore creative writing in their high school classrooms
and to draw upon the expressive skills of their students.
Poetry Out Loud - National recitation contest that
encourages high school students to experience poetry
through memorization, performance, and competition.
Poetry Out Loud is an initiative of the National
Endowment for the Arts (NEA).
American Masterpieces: California - An initiative of
the NEA developed to introduce Americans to the best of
their artistic and cultural legacy. Two tours are being
promoted for 2007-08 presentations in California:
American Tap Masterpieces - The Hollywood Journey, and
Música Festiva de las Misiones.
California Music Project - To help restore music
education in public schools, K-12.
Convenings - Annual statewide arts conference,
professional development sessions, with the multicultural
infrastructure (9 discipline-based arts service
organizations) and statewide service network
organizations (6 organizations).
Poet Laureate - Overview, nomination process,
eligibility and criteria for two-year gubernatorial
appointment to the position of Poet Laureate and related
literary tour.
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Marketing: Public Awareness - Using social change
models, marketing & advocacy to reframe the arts as a
public value--essential to a healthy society, as critical
as free speech.
a) Cultural District Programs. According to information
supplied by supporters, cultural districts are
well-recognized, labeled areas of a city in which a high
concentration of cultural facilities and programs serve as
the main anchor of attraction and creative business
development. They help strengthen local economies, create
an enhanced sense of place, and deepen local cultural
capacity. There are 14 other states that have established
official state Arts & Cultural Districts programs.
Under AB 189, a, "state-designated cultural district" would
be defined as a geographical area with a concentration of
cultural facilities, creative enterprises, or arts venues
that does any of the following: Attracts artists, creative
entrepreneurs, and cultural enterprises; Encourages
economic development and supports entrepreneurship in the
creative community; Encourages the preservation and reuse
of historic buildings and other artistic and culturally
significant structures; Fosters local cultural development;
Provides a focal point for celebrating and strengthening
the unique cultural identity of the community.
b) Economic Impact of Cultural Districts and the Arts. The
National Cultural Districts Exchange, a national
organization comprised of state and jurisdictional arts
agencies, recently published a paper entitled, "State
Cultural Districts: Policies, Metrics, and Evaluation"
which details the various models states have adopted or are
considering for Cultural Districts. The paper highlights
the 14 existing programs, and offers an upbeat analysis of
the future of this hybrid of urban planning and cultural
amenity. In the "Evaluation" portion of their paper, the
authors admit, "Even with robust data collection, proving
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the influence of arts based initiatives on community
well-being remains difficult?"
However, The Maryland State Arts Council was able to quantify
the economic benefit of the 20 Maryland Arts and Entertainment
Districts currently in place. They found that 5,144 direct,
indirect, and induced jobs were created during their study
period (2013); more than $458.2 million in total state GDP were
supported; $149.2 million in total wages were paid, and the
total tax revenue attributed to the districts was approximately
$36.3 million. (Irani, Grimm, Maryland Arts and Entertainment
Districts Impact Analysis FY 2103, [February 25, 2014], Regional
Economic Studies Institute of Townson University.)
Supporters of AB 189 also provided the committee staff with
information to support their assertions that public investment
in the non-profit arts has been proven to both spark economic
activity in communities and return tax dollars to public
coffers. Pointing out recent research which shows that arts
investments made by the state of Pennsylvania generated $2.50
for the state's treasury for every one dollar spent. In
California, the Los Angeles County Economic Development
Commission issues an annual report on the Creative Economy, The
2013 Otis Report on the Creative Economy, which tabulated the
economic activity of the entire creative economy, found that 1
in 10 jobs in California are part of the creative industries,
the creative industries of California generated $273.5 billion
in total (direct, indirect, and induced) economic output, and
employ 1.4 million workers. The tax contributions of the
creative industries to the state are an impressive $13 billion
dollars annually when one combines the total property, state and
local personal income, sales and other taxes.
5)Prior and Related Legislation. ACR 46 (Calderon), of 2015,
would declare the importance of the arts to the state and the
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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 in the 2015-16 Budget Act. Status: Currently pending
before this Committee.
6)Double-referral: Should this bill pass out of this committee,
it will be re-referred to the Assembly Committee on Local
Government.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
Arts Orange County
California Alliance for Arts Education
California Arts Council
California Arts Advocates
MACLA/Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana
Silicon Valley Creates
Theatre West
ZERO1: The Art & Technology Network
Opposition
There is no opposition on file.
Analysis Prepared
by: Dana Mitchell / A.,E.,S.,T., & I.M. / (916)
319-3450
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