BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �




                   Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                            Senator Kevin de Le�n, Chair


          SB 1432 (Lieu) - Arts Council: Grants
          
          Amended: April 1, 2014          Policy Vote: GO 6-3
          Urgency: No                     Mandate: No
          Hearing Date: April 28, 2014                            
          Consultant: Robert Ingenito     
          
          This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.


          Bill Summary: SB 1432 would continuously appropriate $25 million  
          (General Fund) annually to the California Arts Council (CAC) to  
          issue grants. 

          Fiscal Impact: Annual General Fund cost of $25 million. 

          Background: The CAC consists of eleven members, nine appointed  
          by the Governor, and one each by the President pro Tempore of  
          the Senate and the Speaker of the Assembly. The CAC establishes  
          general policy and approves program allocations, and is  
          statutorily required to do the following:
                 Encourage artistic awareness, participation, and  
               expression among the citizens of California.
                 Help independent local groups develop their own arts  
               programs.
                 Promote the employment of artists and those skilled in  
               crafts in both the public and private sectors.
                 Provide for the exhibition of art works in public  
               buildings throughout California.
                 Enlist the aid of all state agencies in the task of  
               ensuring the fullest expression of our artistic potential.

          Proposed Law: SB 1432 would continuously appropriate $25 million  
          (General Fund) annually to the California Arts Council to issue  
          grants. This bill also makes several legislative declarations.

          Related Legislation: AB 580 (Nazarian) from 2013 would have  
          continuously appropriated $75 million (General Fund) annually to  
          the CAC for grants. The bill was held in the Assembly  
          Appropriations Committee. 
          
          Staff Comments: The CAC was established in 1975 to increase  








          SB 1432 (Lieu)
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          access to the arts for all Californians.  The Council's budget  
          grew from $2 million in 1976-77 to $32 million in 2001-02, when  
          roughly 1,600 grants were awarded to non-profit arts  
          organizations.  More recently, appropriations to the CAC were  
          sharply reduced, and General Fund support has remained  
          essentially flat at $1 million over the past decade. The CAC's  
          total proposed budget for 2014-15 is $5.5 million, with the  
          balance of funds coming primarily from specialty license plate  
          revenues ($2.9 million), and federal funds ($1.1 million).

          Staff recommends deleting the continuous appropriation authority  
          in the bill, as it reduces legislative oversight.