NC Budget Update: The Good, the Bad, and the Earmarks
Both the Republican controlled NC House of Representatives and the NC Senate have voted to approve a budget, which has been vetoed by Governor Cooper, just as it has in the last two sessions. However, unlike the last two years, Republicans no longer have a veto-proof majority in either the House or the Senate. If the veto is not overridden in both chambers, or a compromise cannot be reached, the government would operate on the current recurring budget, without any non-recurring funds. We want you to know what is in the budget currently; the GOOD, the BAD, and the EARMARKS.
The Good:
Arts High School Graduation Requirement: The language from H56 and S238, which establishes a requirement of one arts credit between 6th and 12th grade for high school graduation, is included in the budget and would insure all North Carolina students have access to arts education.
More Good:
NC Arts Council Grassroots Arts Grants: The recurring (R) budget for Grassroots Grants is approximately $2.8 million. In the current FY2019 budget $300,000 of non-recurring (NR) dollars was added to those grants. In this budget proposal, there is an additional $500,000 NR in FY2020, and $850,000 NR in FY2021. This is a significant increase and a real win toward the goals of our $1 for the ARTS Initiative, BUT…
The Bad:
Unfortunately, the NC General Assembly included language that would not allow the increased NR Grassroots Grants funding to be distributed to counties with a Tier 3 economic ranking and a population over 130,000. This means that 1 in every 3 North Carolinians live in a county that would be excluded from these increased dollars. (Brunswick, Buncombe, Cabarrus, Durham, Iredell, Mecklenburg, New Hanover, Orange, Union, and Wake) This exclusion attacks the core principal of Grassroots Arts Grants; that they are equitably distributed to all 100 counties. The ten excluded counties would actually see their funding decrease from the current year. We will continue to fight this provision through technical corrections legislation, should this budget become law.
And the Earmarks:
There was an absolutely unprecedented $117 million directed to 207 different nonprofits in line item allocations in the budget, sometimes called “earmarks” (or “pork barrel spending” or just “pork”). Over $4.4 million were designated to 16 arts and culture nonprofits. Nonprofit earmarks are sometimes the unintended byproduct of good advocacy, but this short term good news for a few may have damaging effects for nonprofits statewide in the long term.
Arts NC supports the grant programs of the NC Arts Council because they have thoughtful and professional oversight, provide an equitable distribution of resources throughout the entire state, and hold grant recipients accountable for their use of taxpayer dollars, which is how public funding should be administered. These earmarks have no oversight, are not equitable, and require no accountability. As such, Arts NC does not advocate for or support line-item funding allocations in the NC State Budget.
Remember, it is possible this budget will not become law, meaning Grassroots Grants funding would return to its FY2018 level of $2.8 million and be equitably distributed to all 100 counties, there would be no Arts High School Graduation Requirement, and there would be no earmarks to individual organizations. The good, the bad, and the earmarks, may not actually happen. We will continue to keep you informed and let you know if there are actions that you can take to create positive change for the arts and arts education for every North Carolinian.
| Organizations with Line Items in the Budget | FY2020 | FY2021 |
|---|---|---|
| Alamance Arts Council | $ 70,000.00 | $ – |
| Appalachian Theatre of the High Country | $ 300,000.00 | $ – |
| Asheville Arts Museum | $ 200,000.00 | $ – |
| Carolina Ballet | $ 2,000,000.00 | $ – |
| City of Burlington (Paramount Theater) | $ 100,000.00 | $ – |
| Core Sound Decoy Carvers | $ 50,000.00 | $ – |
| Flat Rock Playhouse | $ 50,000.00 | $ – |
| Greene County Arts and Historical | $ 20,000.00 | $ – |
| High Point Arts Council | $ 250,000.00 | $ – |
| John Coltrane Int. Jazz and Blues Festival | $ 1,000,000.00 | $ – |
| NC Folk Festival | $ 100,000.00 | $ – |
| Mooresville Arts | $ 65,000.00 | $ – |
| Reynolda House Museum of American Art | $ 100,000.00 | $ – |
| Stokes County Arts Council | $ 25,000.00 | $ – |
| Thalian Association | $ 25,000.00 | $ – |
| Winston-Salem Theatre Alliance | $ – | $ 100,000.00 |
| TOTALS | $ 4,355,000.00 | $ 100,000.00 |
| Tier 3 Counties with Populations Over 130,000 | Population |
|---|---|
| Brunswick | 136,744 |
| Buncombe | 259,103 |
| Cabarrus | 211,342 |
| Durham | 316,739 |
| Iredell | 178,435 |
| Mecklenburg | 1,093,901 |
| New Hanover | 232,274 |
| Orange | 146,027 |
| Union | 235,908 |
| Wake | 1,092,305 |
| TOTAL | 3,902,778 |