Massachusetts Artists Leaders Coalition

Artists leaders and artist-run groups addressing policy issues that affect artists in Massachusetts

Important! Contact your State Senator today!

Please contact your State Senator about three issues!

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Greetings everyone,

Today the Massachusetts State Senate released its version of the state budget for 2015.

There is good news and bad news.

(to view the budget: https://malegislature.gov/Budget/FY2015/Senate)

First the good news.

A. In an outside section of the Senate budget there is a STEAM Advisory Council (science, technology, engineering, arts and math)! The House version of the budget had a STEM Council and an amendment to change it to STEAM failed.

B. No anti-coop language was included as part of the Senate budget! We expect that an amendment or amendments will be filed to try to change the state’s coop housing law for the negative. The anti-coop interests try every Senate budget to do this and we have fought them successfully each time to block these amendments from becoming part of the Senate budget. We need to once again stay on watch to guard against this from happening. The law works as it is and any change will negatively impact artists coops and all other coops in the Commonwealth. For more background info on this issue: http://www.artistsunderthedome.org/CoopBills.html

The bad news is that the Massachusetts Cultural Council’s budget was funded at the same level as it was in the Governor’s budget and the House’s amended state budget. That level cuts the MCC’s budget by 1.5 million dollars (9.6 million instead of its current total funding at 11.1 million). There has been an amendment filed to reverse the cut and slightly increase the MCC budget to 12 million dollars.

Here are three issues we need you to contact your State Senator about:

1. Ask them to support Senator Kathleen O’Connor Ives’ amendment to reverse and slightly increase the Massachusetts Cultural Council’s budget to 12 million dollars.

2. Tell your Senator how pleased you are that there is a STEAM Advisory Council in their budget and you want it to become a reality.

3. Please stress to them that you do not want any amendments to the Senate budget that would change the current laws regulating/governing housing coops in our state. The current laws work great for both artists coops and other coops and need no changes.

How to find your State Senator and their contact information:

http://www.wheredoivotema.com/bal/myelectioninfo.aspx

Please contact your State Senator in the next two days (Thursday & Friday).

If you send an email to them – be sure to list your name, address and other contact information. We encourage to you to let them know if you are a practicing artist and if so what discipline(s) you work in!

Also please share this call to action with as many Massachusetts residents to urge them to contact their State Senator on the above three issues!

Thank you for your time and energy on these important matters!

Sincerely,

Kathleen Bitetti
artist
Co-founder of Massachusetts Artists Leaders Coalition (MALC) & ArtistsUndertheDome.org