Grants Funding Sustained
Governor Perdue is expected to sign the 2009-2010 budget this afternoon. In North Carolina's worst economic year since the depression, no reductions were made to the recurring grant funds of the North Carolina Arts Council. The decision means that Grassroots Arts and Basic Grants will remain at 2008-09 levels, less the non-recurring funds that were eliminated in all departments at the beginning of the budget process.
There are many people who must be thanked, and ARTS North Carolina will send a Call to Action for Legislator appreciation later this week. However, this victory for the arts would not have happened without the leadership of our new Secretary of Cultural Resources, Linda Carlisle, Cultural Resources Liasion Melanie Soles, and the willingness of the North Carolina Arts Council to take deep operating cuts so that the grant programs remain whole. We must also recognize the exemplary leadership of General Government Chairs Representatives Alice Underhill and Susan Fisher and Senators Katie Dorsett and Bob Atwater.
License Plate Update
The roller coaster ride of license plate advocacy continues. Yesterday, the Call to Action centered on the House and the House Finance Chairs' turn-around decision not to pass any license plate legislation. If you have not taken action, please continue to do so because, as we have learned on Jones Street, "it isn't over until you hear singing and throat clearing does not count."
Earlier in the session, Senator Joe Sam Queen amended Senate Bill 3 to include 4 specialty, unique license plates. Senate Bill 3 originally provided for a redistribution of plate funds for the Great Smokey Mountain Foundation, but now it also includes the license plates. SB3 successfully passed its second reading but was withdrawn by a Senate Finance Chair and sent to Senate Finance Committee to die an unseemly death. Because of your stellar advocacy work, the leadership of Senator Tony Rand, and help from Cultural Resources, SB 3 has been withdrawn from Finance Committee and will be taken to the Senate floor today for its third and final reading. If it passes the Senate, it will be sent to the House.
That would leave two ways to get a license plate this session. The House changes their minds and pulls a bill together that includes all license plates introduced this session OR they pass SB3. It's a long shot for both, but we work until the final gavel signals the singing has begun. Word is they are going to try and adjourn either by the end of this week or next week at the latest, so resolution one way or the other is close.
Why is this so important to ARTS North Carolina? Arts positioning as core to the creative economy, arts promotion, visible evidence of statewide arts support, life, spirit, hope, sustainable revenue, and fairness.
A preacher once gave a sermon on "appropriate anger." It's about believing in something so passionately that when your issue is marginalized or discounted, when fairness becomes a value, you must stand up and let your anger be known.
And so it goes with the arts license plate. We join several other statewide non-profit organizations who stand to be denied a specialty plate in this current session.
We have just learned that House Finance Committee leaders are not going to pass a license plate bill and instead will postpone the issue for a "study" in the coming year. The net effect is that non-profits who desperately need the revenue and exposure for their mission will be denied a plate for at least another year. We simply can't wait.
Joining with other statewide organizations, we are calling for a wholesale response to the House Finance Committee leadership through a phone call to their office and an e-mail communication with your Representative.
We have twenty-four hours to change their minds. If enough people respond to this Call to Action, we have a chance.
Call these four House Finance Chairs and Speaker Joe Hackney's office and tell them you want to see specialty plate legislation sent to the Senate THIS SESSION. Do this for non-profits who need sustainable revenue NOW. Do this for non-profit organizations that promote North Carolina's assets. Do this for non-profits that have followed all the rules and who have been denied a plate for TWO YEARS. Call these offices NOW and tell them you expect vision, courage, and fair action on the license plate issue.
Paul Luebke 919-733-7663
Pryor Gibson 919-715-3007
Jennifer Weiss 919-715-3010
William Wainwright 919-733-5995
Speaker Joe Hackney 919-733-3451
Then click the Take Action option and send an e-mail to your legislator. You can add your talking points, but text has been provided and the e-mail communication is painless and quick to use.
Long ago, this issue ceased to be solely about revenue. Last week, someone spotted a Florida arts license plate that carried the slogan, "state of the arts". North Carolina is The Creative State, and we deserve the opportunity to say that on the back of our cars. This issue is about positioning the arts in North Carolina and creating public value for our work. Please take action immediately.
Many of you responded to last week's Call to Action about the Senate's approval of SB3, which would have authorized a specialty license plate for the arts. We thank you for standing up for this issue.
Unfortunately, Senator Clark Jenkins, who is adamantly opposed to specialty license plates, removed SB3 from Thursday's Senate Session where it was scheduled for its third and final reading and sent the bill back to Finance Committee. Because Senator Jenkins is a Co-Chair of the Senate Finance Committee,
we must take collective action to counteract Jenkins' maneuver or the plate legislation could languish in Committee.
There is a bill in the Senate to have
all plates conform to the current "First in Flight" design, with a small space for an organization's logo. What should have been a relatively routine legislative process has now become a contentious issue of whether North Carolina should have anything but a standard plate. While there is reason to review license plate rules, we are deeply troubled by several aspects of recent actions:
- It is arbitrary and unfair to change rules in the middle of the session. ARTS North Carolina has been working on the specialty plate for two years and has followed all existing rules.
- The majority of the Senate voted on Wednesday to enact SB3 by a vote of 26-16.
- Readability is the only reason given for objections to specialty plates. Plate designs can be adapted for readability. ARTS North Carolina's plate has met all existing criteria.
- We have heard from the House that they intend to allow specialty bills which meet current criteria to be enacted in the current Session. They intend to appoint a Study Commission after Session and make rules for future license plate projects. However, all plate bills passed this year would be allowed to continue. This is a much more objective and procedural process than having the course of this issue determined by a minority in the Senate.
- Mountain interests have flourished with the Blue Ridge Parkway and Appalachian Trail images and the "identity" created by those specialty plates. The arts will benefit from our plate as the unique and spirited design positions North Carolina as The Creative State.
- ARTS North Carolina is counting on the revenue from the plate sales. Sustainable funding to our organization will allow us to continue to represent your interest and to advance funding and policy issues which have a direct impact on the entire arts industry.
It is time to tell your Senator that you believe the arts license plate should be passed this Session and that you trust they will represent your interest on this issue. In the Call to Action which follows, you will ask your Senator to persuade their colleagues who lead the Senate Finance Committee to move SB3 out of Committee and back to the Senate agenda. You will once again ask your Senator to support SB3 when it comes to the Senate floor.
The staff and Board of ARTS North Carolina are counting on you to help us in this issue so vital to ARTS North Carolina's sustainability. With revenue from the beautifully designed arts license plate, we will continue to grow the arts, connect to economic development, and raise the spirits of the citizens of North Carolina.
Take Action Now by selecting the Take Action option at the top of this e-mail.
For over two years, ARTS North Carolina has worked tirelessly to secure legislation for an arts specialty license plate. We made progress today in the Senate, but because
there is opposition to specialty license plates,
we are asking for your immediate response to contact your Senator in support of the arts plate. Please take immediate action before 10:30am on Thursday.
Today Senator Joe Sam Queen introduced an amendment to Senate Bill 3, a technical license plate bill, to include approval of four plates including ARTS North Carolina's plate. We thank Senator Queen, Senator Snow, Senator Apodaca, and Senator Atwater for their vocal support of the plate on the Senate floor. We thank Senator Tony Rand for being the Primary Sponsor of the legislation and always for his leadership. Senator Queen's amendment to Senator Snow's bill, which enables the speciality license plates, passed by a vote of 26-16.
However, the bill must pass a 3rd reading on the Senate floor, tentatively scheduled to be heard at tomorrow's 11am session.
The arts plate is dynamic, spirited, colorful and broadly positions North Carolina as The Creative State (
www.artsnc.org/creativestate). However, the Highway Patrol would prefer that all plates in North Carolina be standardized and have influenced some Senators to vote against any speciality plates. We need your help, thousands of your voices, telling your Senator that the arts license plate is a good idea and that we will work with DMV to assure its readability in the interest of public safety.
If you will click the Take Action option at the top of this message, it will take you no longer than two minutes to influence this critical issue for ARTS North Carolina. Your action will lead to sustainable revenue for our organization which then insures we can continue to serve your interest in Raleigh.
There are many reasons why the plate is a good idea. The plate connects North Carolina, the arts, and the creative economy. The plate is spirited and clearly tells our story from the back of a car in highways and byways across the nation. The sales of the plate will support ARTS North Carolina's work and will also support other state programs related to tourism and highway aesthetics. And as one Senator put it, "if you can't read this plate then you don't need to be driving."
We need your response, and in return, we will continue to work tirelessly on your behalf. Please take just a few minutes to make a huge difference in the future of ARTS North Carolina.
North Carolina's budget is now in the hands of the House and Senate Conference Committee. They will work night and day to resolve differences in revenue packages and allocations. Every arts organization, artist, volunteer, or supporter who receives this e-mail should respond to this final Call to Action no later than Wednesday, June 24, to secure funding for the North Carolina Arts Council's Grassroots Arts and Basic Grants programs.
This communication will activate our electronic hard copy feature. E-mails will not be effective in the final days. Only personal letters received through the mail have a chance of being noticed. Please note the instructions section of the Call to Action Alert.
Note when activating this program that the process is slightly different than e-mail communication and requires the sender to print and mail the communication. It's a step worth taking and will only take a few extra minutes to complete. You should always call ARTS North Carolina if you have issues completing the communication at 919/834-1411.
We have an unparalleled opportunity in North Carolina. The Senate's budget recommended reductions to the grants programs of 6.4%, but the House budget contained NO reductions to Grassroots Arts or Basic Grants. How can we not spend five minutes to make sure our General Assembly knows which option is best for North Carolina?
The budget adopted by the House in the early morning hours last Saturday DOES NOT include reductions to the recurring grant programs of the North Carolina Arts Council. Grassroots Arts and Basic Grants are set at 2008-09 recurring levels.
The members of General Government who are directly responsible for the grant recommendations in House General Government are:
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Chairs:
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Vice-Chairs:
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Members:
If these are your Legislators, please extend a word of appreciation to them.
The Senate's budget, adopted on April 14th, includes 6.4% reductions to both grants programs.
A Conference Committee will now be appointed by both the House and Senate to work out budget differences. There is speculation that they will finish the budget by June 30 because each day thereafter will cost the state five million dollars. Our goal will obviously be to secure the House recommendation.
We owe a debt of gratitude for Secretary of Cultural Resources Linda Carlisle and Legislative Liaison Melanie Soles who were smart, savvy, and fearless warriors on our behalf. Additionally, the North Carolina Arts Council took a 54% reduction in their operating funds which protected the grants programs. If you would like to e-mail your appreciation, the Cultural Resource leadership addresses are
linda.carlisle@ncdcr.gov,
melanie.soles@ncdcr.gov, and
mary.regan@ncdcr.gov.
In the near future, ARTS North Carolina will send a Call to Action for communication with Conference Committee members. Rather than using the e-mail format, we will request that hard copies of your communication be printed and mailed. Our Capwiz program allows for this option so the process will be efficient and very effective.
Please stand ready to take action when the Call is issued. Your voice can literally determine the outcome of state public support for the arts in this challenging year.