Arts Advocacy Overview

California Arts Council Restoration Issue

Our goal is to obtain support of the Governor and California legislature for restoration of the budget of the Council to $36 million, or $1 per person, in order to restore community arts services and CAC programs at all levels.

In the meantime, this is a brief summary of the current situation of the California Arts Council:

State funding from the General Fund was reduced from $32 million to 1.1 million four years ago.

The $1.1 million was maintained because it was a requirement to match a federal grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA.) of $961,000.

The $1.1 million from the state's general fund equals approximately three cents per person. This is the lowest per capita funding in the entire United States, less than Mississippi, the District of Columbia and Guam.

As a result, California no longer funds artists residencies in the schools, community institutions and jails; the state's touring program has disappeared; and there are no fellowships for individual artists.

To the credit of our Governor and the legislature, the state's budget for 2006-07 provides a generous increase for arts and music in our state's public schools but there was no increase in the budget for the California Arts Council, which funds non-profit arts organizations, community arts and arts in social institutions.

While California spends three cents from the State's General Fund, New York spends about $2.35 per person (an increase from $2.20 in 2005-06), according to the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies. Hawaii, at $5.56 per person is first; New Jersey at $3.42 person is second.

We are seeking to restore the California Arts Council to $36 million, which would equal about $1/person.

The budget passed for 2006-07 allocates a total of $5.11 million for the CAC, keeping the General Fund allocation at $1.144 million, with an additional $965,000 from the NEA and $197, 000 for miscellaneous reimbusements, and an increase to $2.804 million from special license plates. The entire projected increase would come from the license plate fees.

The proposal to fund the State Arts Council at a level of $36 million would bring back arts programs in communities throughout the state and revive inter-departmental activities with other state agencies. Without this support, we will continue to lose our State's most creative and talented people--a trend which is already happening.

The need for arts funding is a basic community need, not just an issue which concerns the arts and artists. It affects economic vitality, ethnic relations, public safety, delinquency prevention, learning ability, public safety, --in all of our communities, rural and urban.

Currently California's recidivism rate is twice the national average. It was estimated that a life of crime costs the public between $1.7 and $2.3 million. A small investiment in arts funding would yield tremendous dividends in preventing juvenile delinquency, and reducing recidivism among California adult offenders.

For these reasons, the League of California Cities and the State Sheriff's Association are in support of restoring the funding for the California Arts Council.

California Lawyers for the Arts is a tax exempt 501(c)(3) organization & your donation is tax deductible as a charitable contribution to the fullest extent of the law.