House Ways & Means Budget Was Released – Part 1 – MassArt & Cuts to the MCC

The Massachusetts House of Representatives’ Committee on Ways and Means is responsible for crafting and releasing the House of Representatives’ Budget. This is the second step in our state’s budget process: https://malegislature.gov/Budget/Process. Yesterday, this committee released its Fiscal Year 2016 (FY16) budget proposal. It cuts both the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC) and our state library system. (Note: The first step of the budget process was the release of the Governor’s Budget. His budget proposal level funded both the MCC and the state library system). On a positive note: The House Ways and Means Budget increases Massachusetts College of Art’s budget to $17, 201, 53 (budget line item 7117-0100 ). In last year’s Fiscal Year 2015 final budget for MassArt, it was funded at $16,353,460: https://malegislature.gov/Budget/FinalBudget/2015

Within the House Ways and Means proposal, funding is set at $10 million for the MCC. This constitutes a 16% reduction in MCC funding. The MCC is the state agency that supports the arts, sciences, and humanities. It’s current budget is $13.3 million, of which about $12 million comes from the state. It uses this money to provide services, grants, and advocacy for the cultural sector. Artists of all disciplines should be deeply concerned about the potential for almost $2 million to be stripped from its next budget.

The MCC took about a $215,000 hit earlier this year when Governor Baker utilized emergency 9C cuts to reduce the budgets of state agencies across the board for the current fiscal year. A 16% cut to its FY16 budget would dramatically curtail important cultural funding.

Representative Corey Atkins, Chairwoman of the Joint Committee on Tourism, Arts and Cultural Development, has filed a budget amendment to set MCC funding at $15 million in FY16. Her colleagues in the House have until 5 p.m. on Friday, April 24 to cosponsor her amendment (as they do all amendments).

Please contact your state representative and request that he or she sign on as a cosponsor of Atkins important amendment for the Massachusetts Cultural Council – budget line item 0640-0300, To figure out who your state rep. is, click here: http://www.wheredoivotema.com/bal/myelectioninfo.aspx

The next MALC blog post will focus on the House Ways and Means budget proposal cuts to the state library system.

Written by John Weeks and Kathleen Bitetti