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State Legislature includes $1.5 M for AZ Commission on the Arts
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State Legislature includes $1.5 million for Arizona Commission
on the Arts’ grants and programs
 
Thanks to the efforts of art advocates like you from all over Arizona, the $9.6 billion state budget for fiscal year 2016-17 approved by the Arizona Legislature early this morning includes a $1.5 million one-year allocation for the Arizona Commission the Arts to use for grants and programs to nonprofit arts and culture organizations statewide.
 
The Arts Commission will now have significantly more money available to support grant programs that benefit organizations across the state, after the failure to include any arts money in the current FY16 budget resulted in a grant fund that was at its lowest point in 30 years.
 
We were only able to turn this situation around because arts advocates reached out to their state legislators over and over, beginning last fall and continuing right up until the Legislature began work on the state budget last week.
 
Just last week alone,
more than 1,000 arts advocates from throughout the state reached out to their legislators and Governor Ducey to ask that the arts be included in a budget compromise that originally included NO money for the Arts Commission.
 
Major credit also goes to Senator Bob Worsley (R-District 25) and Representative Kate Brophy McGee (R-District 28) who never gave up working with their colleagues and the Governor’s office to insure that the arts were included in the budget.
 
The Governor is expected to sign the budget very soon, and we will share more details about how you can show your appreciation to legislators who supported our cause.
 
In the meantime – congratulations. You did it!

 
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Copyright © 2016 Arizona Citizens for the Arts, All rights reserved.


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