Received via a non-profit arts organization:
TCA Legislative Update
On Friday June 17th, Governor Rick Perry signed the General Appropriations bill for the next two years. He did not veto the funding for the Texas Commission on the Arts. The agency will have a budget of $3.7 million for each of the next two years, which reflects a 50 percent reduction to the grants budget and a 30 percent reduction in staff.
Just received via a non-profit arts organization:
Received via a non-profit arts organization:
Legislative Update
No April Fools Joke Here --
House Approves Amendment to Gut TCA
Earlier today, the Texas House of Representatives - in an unusual bi-partisan vote - made what Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, referred to as a Sophie's Choice, and stripped the Texas Commission on the Arts of its lifeblood by zeroing out the appropriated $3.5 million in General Revenue. It did so by passing an amendment to HB 1, drafted by Rep. David Simpson, R-Longview, by a vote of 67 Yeas and 61 Nays, with 17 Representatives choosing to vote, Present. Rep. Simpson's amendment moved the funds from the TCA to be added to the already appropriated $580 million for the Department of Aging and Disability Services (DADS).
Despite his protestations to the contrary, the small amount of money involved could lead one to think that the TCA was the target of the amendment rather a sincere desire to bolster the DADS appropriation. In addition, the political undercurrent seems obvious as, no doubt, many of the 17 voting Present were more willing to sacrifice the arts agency and its good work - rather than be seen as casting a vote against the elderly and disabled.
Several Representatives, chiefly John Otto, R-Dayton, and other Republicans attempted to make the case that the small amount of dollars involved would be nothing but a "drop in the bucket" to DADS while it completely gutted another agency and gave up $2 million in matching federal funds (actually funding from the also-threatened NEA).
Fortunately, TCA funding - though reduced by 50% - remains in the Senate budget bill. This fight is not over and TFA will continue to advocate and lobby for the Senate budget bill. We can, therefore, hope that cooler and smarter heads will prevail in the reconciliation of the two bills in Conference Committee.
Once the vote is certified by the House Clerk, TFA will forward the voting record to you - and we will urge you to thank those voting Yea and question the thinking of those either voting NO or not voting.
Yours in the arts,
Michael Burke
Executive Director
The Austin Creative Alliance is appealing urgently for public reaction to legislator Simpson's budget amendment, just filed and aimed at defunding the Texas Commission for the Arts.
The demands of the time are such that new interim executive director Marcy Hoen is still using a template with the signature of departed longtime director Latifa Taormina -- but the creatives have found time to cap the appeal with the group's new logo.
The old logo, a clunky inward-bowed rectangle, is still on the website.
Save the TCA!
Immediate Action Required!
UPDATE 4/1/2011:
Rep. Simpson (R, Longview) has just filed a TCA-killing amendment
UPDATE 2/18/11: The House budget version (HB1) comes to the floor today. Please call your representatives immediately and ask them to vote NAY on any amendment -- similar to Rep. Simpson's -- that would further reduce the appropration for the Texas Commission on the Arts.
The TCA has already sustained a 52% reduction - any further would amount to killing the agency.
PLEASE TAKE ACTION NOW AND CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVES!
WHY SUPPORT THE ARTS, ESPECIALLY NOW? . . . . Aside from the fact that they generate 4.9 BILLION dollars for Texas of which a teency tincy percent goes back to the arts, and aside from the fact that they are the largest growth area for new jobs in the state.....
WHAT WE NEED TO SOLVE OUR PROBLEMS IS CREATIVITY - the ability to generate something fresh - which also entails the ability to face a problem and create something new from what is broken. THAT IS WHAT THE ARTS DO. THAT IS WHAT THE ARTS TEACH US.
To quote Arlene Goldbard's recent talk in Austin* (click for link to text and video)
"In a world morphing at light-speed into something none of us can foretell, fear and loss can be paralyzing. Creativity is the antidote: it is both our greatest challenge and our greatest need.
You can see these same capacities in action when we make music, dance, or theater: we collaborate, expressing a shared passion for beauty and meaning, stretching to accommodate each other, negotiating differences, holding space for everyone, and thus expanding possibility.
Artists rehearse for life's challenges through imagination and improvisation, exploring the limits of their powers and the synergies that can be created when they are aligned.
Making art, we learn how to move past the easy and obvious into essence, how to discard what no longer serves and explore the unknown.
Reflect on the business world: in IBM's most recent biennial CEO study, Capitalizing on Complexity,** interviews with over 1,500 CEOs and managers from both the private and public sector in 60 countries and 33 industries revealed that the "single most important leadership
competency" needed to navigate an environment of escalating complexity was creativity."
* Arlene Goldbard, author and arts activist, gave the keynote at the annual conference for the Association of Perferforming Arts Service Organziations here in Austin, March 8, 2011. The Creative Alliance hosted the conference.
**Capitalizing on Complexity: Insights from the Global Chief Executive Officer Study, IBM Corporation, May 2010
(illustration provided by AustinLiveTheatre.com):
March 8, 2011
TCA Legislative Update
The 82nd Texas Legislature continues in Austin and the Texas Commission on the Arts has been involved in several meetings of interest to constituents.
On February 24th, TCA went before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on General Government. TCA thanked the Subcommittee for the support demonstrated for the agency in HB1, the House Appropriations Bill. HB1 is the House version of the Texas state budget.
TCA also requested the Subcommittee reinstate several items to the proposed budget. These include:
- Restoration of funding for TCA’s contract for systems programming services which supports TCA’s online grants system.
- Restoration of five Full Time Employees and their salaries. Positions include 2 Program Administrators, 1 Program Assistant, Webmaster, and Director of Communications.
- An additional $2 million for the Arts Create grant category.
On Monday, February 28th, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on General Government met to discuss their recommendations to the full House Appropriations Committee. TCA’s request for the restoration of items into the budget was not included and no changes were made to the original recommendations in HB1.
HB1 recommendations remain as originally reported:
- Budget reduction of approximately 50% as compared to the last biennium (this includes the grants budget)
- Reduction of 30% of TCA staff (a loss of 5 staff positions)
- Elimination of funding for advertising, promotion and cultural tourism
- Elimination of the contract for TCA's online grant system
- Reduction of 40% to TCA's travel budget
On Monday, March 7th, TCA went before the Senate Finance Committee. SB1, the Senate version of the appropriations bill, matches the recommendations in HB1 (see above). TCA again requested reinstatement of the grants system contract and the 5 Full Time Employee positions, as well as $2 million for Arts Create grants.
Public testimony was provided by representatives of Texans for the Arts, the Texas Cultural Trust, and the Texas Travel Industry Association.
TCA will continue to provide updates on the legislative process. In the meantime, questions should be directed to Gary Gibbs, TCA executive director, at ggibbs@arts.state.tx.us or Gaye Greever McElwain, TCA director of communications at gaye@arts.state.tx.us.
Article received as a forwarded link, illustration as an ALT comment:
Lawmakers Spare Historical, Arts Agencies — For Now
by Christopher Smith Gonzalez - 2/24/2011
Two agencies that Gov. Rick Perry has suggested suspending funding for — the Texas Historical Commission and the Texas Commission on the Arts — came before House Appropriations this morning. And lawmakers didn't seem particularly apt to shutter them.
The Historical Commission — and in particular its Courthouse Preservation, Main Street and Heritage Trails programs — got a great deal of attention from lawmakers who said their inboxes have been flooded by constituents.
[. . . .] In the House draft of the budget, both commissions receive some funding. But the cuts are deep and would cause both agencies to scale back the programs they offer. The Historical Commission, for example, would be cut by $14.8 million in general revenue funds — and about $80 million in all funds. General revenue funding for the Texas Commission on the Arts would be reduced by 50 percent.
[. . . .] The committee wasn't ready to rule on the Historical Commission — but did approve the recommendations to halve the Commission on the Arts' funding. Gary Gibbs, the commission's executive director, thanked House lawmakers for leaving his agency in the budget rather than shutting it altogether.
Gibbs said the cuts would mean cutting his staff by a third. The commission would also be forced to shrink the grants it provides for a variety of events and programs, like the Austin Shakespeare Festival and the Amarillo Opera. But he took House lawmakers' inclusion of funds for his agency as evidence that they recognize the importance of the arts in Texas. “They contribute to our economy, they enhance the education of our children to prepare them for the 21st century workforce, and they contribute to the quality of life that attracts businesses and a skilled workforce to our state,” he said.
Click to read the full article, focused mostly on the Historical Commission, at the Texas Tribune
UPDATE: E-mail from Gary Gibbs, Executive Director, Texas Commission for the Arts, February 8
Published yesterday at the Texas Tribune:
Perry: Defund Texas Arts, Historical Commissions
Gov. Rick Perry argued in his State of the State speech Tuesday that lawmakers should suspend funding for two state agencies — the Texas Commission on the Arts and the Texas Historical Commission — because they don’t provide "mission-critical" services. But what do they do? And what won’t get done without them?
The nearly 60-year-old Texas Historical Commission is the 200-worker agency that installs and maintains nearly 12,000 historical markers statewide and administers federal and state preservation statutes. It’s a key player in the work to rebuild the arson-damaged Governor’s Mansion and, notably, disagreed with a plan backed by first lady Anita Perry to build an addition onto the Governor’s Mansion (the addition was later scaled back). [. . .]
The Texas Commission on the Arts, meanwhile, provides grants to art programs and promotes tourism in the state.
The Commission and its programs affect 2.2 million Texans statewide, said Gary Gibbs, the agency’s executive director — providing funding to a wide variety of events and programs, from the Austin Shakespeare Festival to the Amarillo Opera. It also provides marketing and promotional services to help rural Texas towns attract tourists.
The commission also uses funds to promote arts in education, providing grants to Texas students across the state through its Young Masters program, which last year gave 22 students grants of up to $2,500 in financial assistance to pursue the arts for up to three years. [ . . .]
Ray suggests that eliminating such agencies — and namely the Historical Commission — could invite intervention from Washington, one of Perry’s least favorite things. If there’s no state agency to review construction projects for their impact on historical preservation, Ray said, it’s likely the U.S. Department of Interior could step in to do it.
And slashing either agency could be a political trial-by-fire for Perry. Both boards are loaded with political appointees, many of them Republican supporters who landed plum spots in return for their loyalty.
Even if the agencies aren’t eliminated altogether, they still face massive cuts. Under the House and Senate proposed budget, the two agencies — which were granted a combined $100 million in the most recent budget, including bond money and federal funds — would operate with half, or even a quarter, of their current funds.
Read full text at www.texastribune.com . . . .
In a response to last week’s column on “Howl,” the movie about Allen Ginsberg’s famous poem, Charlie from Binghamton asked, “What happened to public investment in the humanities and the belief that the humanities enhanced our culture, our society, our humanity?” And he speculated that it “will be a sad, sad day if and when we allow the humanities to collapse.”
