Arizona Action for the Arts Legislative/Public Affairs Strategy for 2011

Key Principles

  1. Arts and culture organizations in Arizona comprise a large and critical economic sector, boasting a major employment base, generating significant tax revenue and providing overall economic stimulus.
  2. Arts and culture plays a significant role in the vitality of Arizona, especially in the tourism economy, attraction of knowledge workers, location of new businesses, excellence in education and quality of community life.
  3. A robust level of local and state-provided public funding for the arts is necessary as an investment in the cultural economy that pays off in new economic activity, healthier communities, better schools, and a higher quality of life.
  4. Public funding for the arts at the federal, state and local level currently is inadequate and must be increased to provide the degree of investment needed to leverage private sector support and sustain the growth of the arts and culture sector in Arizona.
  5. The Arizona Commission on the Arts is a cornerstone in the statewide system of public support for the arts and culture industry and requires, at barest minimum, sufficient state funding to secure federal matching funds (NEA).
  6. Future development of the arts and culture sector requires a commitment to identifying and pursuing new funding collaboratives, partnerships and operating models by a broadly-inclusive coalition of individuals, organizations and governments that value arts and culture, including schools, arts educators, arts organizations and ommunity-based organizations and businesses.

Strategic Objectives - State

  1. Insure that the Arizona Commission on the Arts successfully emerges from the Sunset Review and is reauthorized for the statutory limit of 10 years. It is critical to rebuilding the arts and culture industry and positioning arts and culture as a powerful participant in Arizona's economic recovery that we have a strong state partner in the Commission.
  2. Insure that the Arts Trust Fund, derived from business fees paid to the Arizona Corporation Commission, remains intact without a sweep of any of the statutorily earmarked money for arts and culture support. As the only remaining source of state, public money allocated to the Arizona Commission on the Arts., revenue from the Arts Trust secures the federal matching money from the NEA and represents the business community's commitment to public funding for the arts. In each of the past two years, 8% or about one month's worth of revenue, has been swept from the fund to help balance the general fund budget. Because state tax revenues have begun to recover, the Arts Trust and similar other earmarked funds should be left untouched.
  3. Support the collaborative effort of the Arizona Commission of the Arts and State Sen. Al Melvin to introduce and pass legislation establishing an Arizona Poet Laureate.
  4. Continue to seek ways to restore monies to the Arizona Commission on the Arts as the economy recovers and opportunities may arise to develop new funding alternatives.
  5. Continue to develop relationships with arts-friendly legislators we've identified through the Sunset Review process as potential allies in protecting the Arts Trust and identifying new funding mechanisms for the arts.

Strategic Objectives - Local

  1. As local, municipal budgets begin to recover, we advocate the refunding of local arts programs while encouraging the development of other arts-friendly policies that will promote more public investment in local arts and culture organizations as key components in local community development and economic development strategies.
  2. We will work with our local arts partners in communities that will have local elections in 2012 to help identify arts-friendly candidates, educate local candidates about local arts issues and publicize the outcomes of our efforts so that arts voters may make better-informed decisions about candidates.
  3. We also will monitor local elections for ballot initiatives, e.g. bond issues that may impact arts and culture with the goal of educating local voter about those impacts, and either endorsing or opposing the initiatives.