11/30/01

State Government Grant Freeze Will Not Affect Most Arts Grants, For Now

The MN Dept. of Finance has begun a number of initiatives that are intended to help the governor decide how to deal with the setback in the economy. It is understood that there probably will be some budget retrenchment during the next legislative session, although the amount and nature of the retrenchment is still unknown. What follows is a brief summary of current events.

GRANT FREEZE
As you may know, the Finance Deptartment has sent out a memo telling state agencies to freeze all grant making as of November 20. The good news is that the Minnesota State Arts Board (MSAB) already sent out most of their grants for the year so most of their grantees are not affected, for now, by this freeze. However, unfortunately, as I learned today, the freeze does affect some grants to individual artists which have not yet gone out, in addition to a few arts in education grants. It also affects a few arts organizations who were tardy in returning their grant agreements to the MSAB. As for the Regional Arts Councils (RACs) and their grantees, the freeze does not affect them. The current understanding is that the grant freeze is temporary, but it is too early to tell how this will play out over the next couple of months.

BUDGET CUTS?
The Deptartment of Finance sent out a second memo to its agencies asking each to identify how it would deal with a 5% or alternately a 10% cut in its budget over the current biennium. Each agency is required to complete this work by Dec. 11. There are several more months before the legislature meets to decide how to deal with the setback in the economy and any budget retrenchment. Although the Governor will propose taking care of the deficit with a certain set of cuts, the final decision is in the hands of the Legislature which begins meeting at the end of January. It is too early to know what the Governor will do about the budget or how legislators will want to deal with it. We are concerned about the possible effect on arts organizations of the budget retrenchment, but it is too early to tell what we are facing. We will continue to monitor the situation and keep you informed.

10/18/01

National Legislation Affects the Arts:

1. New Airline Security Measures may affect musicians and their instruments.
2. NEA funding increase nears final stage.
3. Education Appropriations Boost Arts Education $.

1. New Airline Security Measures may affect musicians and their instruments.
In spite of the terrorist actions, the business of the nation goes on. Congress plans to act quickly on its legislative agenda next week, particularly the Aviation Security measure. Congress continues to consider legislation that will instruct the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to put in place new air security measures. Proposed restrictions on carry-on items may significantly impact the ability of musicians to travel with instruments.

Senate Bill Completed: The Senate version of the aviation security bill, S. 1447, passed unanimously last Thursday, October 11, and did not include specific restrictions on carry-on luggage. The proposed language was dropped when the FAA issued an emergency security directive with similar language, limiting carry-on items to one piece of luggage and one personal item. Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI) entered a statement into the Congressional Record on behalf of the music community, saying “Limitations on carry-on bags should not put an undue burden on musicians, consistent with the requirements of safety. I am certain that we can make it clear to those charged with the detailed administration of air safety policies that there is obviously a rule of reason and practicality to be observed.”

House Action Ahead: While there are not specific limitations in the Senate bill, House lawmakers are considering language that would specifically restrict carry-on items. Furthermore, we remain concerned that the FAA’s development of emergency directives and long-term regulatory requirements will not take into account the concerns of the music industry. As the aviation security bill moves forward during the week of October 22, please communicate with both the House and Senate.

The American Symphony Orchestra League requests that musicians contact your Senators and Representative by phone or fax with the following message:

The orchestra industry supports efforts to improve the safety of airline personnel and travelling passengers.
As new FAA regulations are developed, we must preserve opportunities for musical commerce.
Oppose any proposals that would eliminate the transportation of musical instruments in-cabin.
We urge you to write a letter to the FAA ensuring that the music community will have a prominent role during rule-making.
For contact information for your members of Congress, visitwww.congress.org.

THANK YOU: Hill offices are responding favorably to the many letters and phone calls from orchestras. If you have not yet done so, please communicate with your members of Congress in both the House and Senate, andfax a copy to Heather Watts in the American Symphony Orchestra League’s DC office at (202) 776-0224.

2. NEA Increase in Final 2002 Bill
As Congress works through the thirteen appropriations bills funding the federal government in 2002, the Interior Appropriations Bill, with $115.234 million for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), is the first to emerge from a House-Senate conference committee. On October 10, the agreement was sent to Congress for final approval with the presidentÕs signature to follow. Votes are expected shortly in the House and Senate on final passage of the FY02 money bill.

Because both the House and Senate had passed legislation earlier in the summer with a $10 million increase for the NEA, the outcome was not at issue in the conference committee. The House passed the additional funding in June in a floor amendment adopted by a vote of 221-193. The Senate included the same increase in the bill drafted by the Senate Appropriations Committee prior to floor votes. Of the $115 million for the NEA, $17 million is designated by Congress for Challenge America program spending.

The House floor amendment and the Senate bill, as well, also increased appropriations for the Office of Museum Services from $24.9 million in FY01 to $26.9 million, the amount in the final conference committee measure. Only the funding level for the National Endowment for the Humanities was at issue. The House had voted to increase the NEH funds from $120 million to $123.5 million in 2002. The Senate legislation boosted the humanities funding even higher, to $125.5 million. In the end, the conferees split the difference, with the humanities endowment set at $124.5 million in the conference agreement.

3. Education Appropriations Boost Arts Education Dollars
There is $30 million in both the House and Senate education appropriations bills for arts education, a $2 million increase above FY01. The House approved its version of the money measure on October 12. The Senate vote is expected to follow soon. The presidentÕs FY02 budget set arts education funding at zero. Apart from funds for the Kennedy CenterÕs arts education programs (House: $6 million; Senate $5.6 million) and Very Special Arts (House: $7 million; Senate $6.65 million), the arts education dollars, which go through the U.S. Department of Education, will support such activities as

the development and implementation of curriculum frameworks for arts education;
the development of model pre-service and in-service professional development programs for arts educators and other instructional staff;
specific instruction in music, art, theater and dance;
the development of model arts education assessments based on high standards; and
supporting model projects and programs to integrate arts education into the regular elementary and secondary school curriculum.
In its report on the bill, the Senate Appropriations Committee notes, “The Committee is aware that recent data and empirical evidence indicate that specific instruction in music, art, and dance improves the success of K-12 students.”

Please share this alert with your friends, staff and board!

10/3/01

MCA to Offer “Buildings and Bonding 101″
How to Build or Renovate a Building for the Arts.

Four sessions of this important short seminar will be held around the state, led by MCA’s Executive Director Sheila Smith and fundraiser John Spokes:

Oct. 12 in Rochester, 1:00 p.m. hosted by the Southeast MN Arts Council at their office, 1610 14th St. NW, #306.

Oct. 19 in Duluth, 9:00 a.m. hosted by the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council at the Depot boardroom, 506 W. Michigan St.

Oct. 28 in Fergus Falls, 1:00 p.m. hosted by the Lake Region Arts Council at their office, 133 South Mill St.

Oct. 31 in St. Paul, 1:00 p.m. hosted by the Metropolitan Regional ArtsCouncil at The Brownstone Building, 849 University Avenue West, Room 106. (Intersection of University and Victoria in St. Paul.)

Each seminar will last for three hours, and will consist of:

1 hour of basic discussion about the planning and process of building or renovating a building for the arts.
1hour of Bonding 101: How the State of Minnesota allocates money for buildings and what you should know.
1 hour, general discussion, focused on the projects of attendees.
We will provide some written materials that will help you in your planning. PLEASE call MCA at 651-251-0868 or send your RSVP to she-mca@mtn.org and let us know if you will attend. Attendence at these seminars is FREE.

ARTISTS! Be a part of Minnesota Artists Online. Join now - free!

Minnesota Artists Online (MAO) is a comprehensive online resource and virtual community for Minnesota artists from all disciplines created by the McKnight Foundation. If you’re an artist, REGISTER TODAY at http://www.mnartists.org to be included in the database and have your work displayed online - at no cost! MAO offers Minnesota-based artists a central gathering place on the web allowing them to interact and share their work with others. Soon, it will offer the public a new way to explore art, and get to know artists and arts organizations. In addition to providing artists with a web page containing images and information, MAO will provide news and features about the local arts scene from a variety of sources.

Please share this alert with your friends, staff and board!

9/20/01

“Telling Our Stories: Advocating for the Arts in Your Community.”
Arts Advocacy Conferences to be Presented Around the State

“Telling Our Stories: Advocating for the Arts in Your Community” is hosted by MinnesotaÕs Forum of Regional Arts Councils in cooperation with Minnesota Citizens for the Arts and The Minnesota Alliance for Arts in Education. Three identical conferences will be held:

October 13, 2001 at Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato;
October 27, 2001 at Fergus Falls Community College; and
November 17, 2001 at Princeton High School in Princeton.

Each conference will begin at 8:45 am and conclude at 4:30 pm.

Who should go?

-Arts leaders and artists from your community
-Arts organization staff and board members
-Teachers, school board members, arts active parents/CAPP members
-People who believe in and advocate for the arts
-Legislators

How can you use the skills learned at the workshop?

-New tools, statistics, and strategies acquired will help you influence decision-makers in your community to support the arts more generously.
-New beneficial connections within your community and with others in your region will help you collaborate for joint projects more effectively.
-The innovative and exciting success stories of others will ignite you to try new ideas or continue to pursue your current arts agenda.
-You will become aware of strategic points of pressure in town, city and school district systems that might in-crease the arts programming in your community.

Why do we want you there?

-The understanding you have of your community - its successes and challenges - is information that others will want to learn. Your experiences are important.
-Your renewed commitment to the arts community is vital. Your continued arts leadership as well as your ability to pass on training to new leaders is needed.

Schedule

8:45-9:30 The Table of Contents: Registration
9:30-10:15 Prologue: Welcome featuring Sheila SmithÕs “The STUN Speech”
10:15-10:30 Character Development Break
10:30-11:45: Chapter One: Concurrent Sessions: -Telling Your Story, -Speaking with One Voice, -Fundamentals of Advocacy (The larger group will be divided into three smaller groups for the chapter sessions).
11:45-1:00 The Conflict: Lunch Roundtables Discussions
1:00-2:15 Chapter Two: Repeat of Chapter One Sessions
2:15-2:30 Revival Break
2:30-3:45 Chapter Three: Repeat of Chapter One Sessions
3:45-4:00 Editing Break
4:00-4:30 The Epilogue: Wrap-up

Chapter Session Leaders

Fundamentals of Advocacy: Sheila M. Smith, executive director of Minnesota Citizens for the Arts since 1996. Smith received a Master’s degree in Arts Administration from St. Mary’s University in 1998.

Telling Your Story: October 27 and November 17 sessions will be led by storyteller Loren Niemi, who has spent over thirty years as a community organizer, working with neighborhoods and non-profit groups to articulate their dreams and resolve their conflicts. The October 13 session will be led by Michael-jon Pease, the Development Director of Park Square Theatre in St. Paul. Pease serves on the boards of Minnesota Citizens for the Arts and COMPAS.

Speaking with One Voice: Kathleen Maloney, Executive Director of Minnesota Alliance for Arts in Education, has brought new focus and effectiveness to the Alliance’s grassroots advocacy mission to secure high quality arts education for every Minnesota child.

RegistrationThe registration fee for the conference is $15.00 per person, and will include lunch. Payments may be made by check (made out to RAC Forum).

Please return your registration by: October 6 for Mankato (October 13) October 20 for Fergus Falls (October 27) November 10 for Princeton (November 17)

Mail, e-mail or call your registration in to:

Geri Katz
Forum of Regional Arts Councils of Minnesota and Minnesota Citizens for the Arts
2233 University Avenue West, Suite 355
St. Paul, MN 55114
651-251-0868
mca@mtn.org

OR contact your local Regional Arts Council Director. You can find their contact information at: http://www.mtn.org/mca/grantinfo.html.

6/30/01

The legislature has FINALLY adjourned. The House had originally pushed for a $5 million cut for the arts. The Senate had recommended a $1.35 million increase. In the end, after a big fight led by Sen. Richard Cohen (D), the arts cuts were defeated, resulting in stable arts funding for the next two years.

THANK YOU to the many thousands of arts supporters who visited, called and wrote their legislators this session. This massive out-pouring of grassroots support, in addition to the able help of our lobbyist Larry Redmond, made it possible to protect MNÕs investment in the arts.

In addition, Rep. Krinkie originally added language to the bill that would prevent any organization from receiving more than $100,000 per year in grants, even if it is from different programs with different purposes. Because of MCAÕs loud protests, that language was NOT included in the final bill, but some new reporting language has been added.

BACKGROUND: The HouseÕs bill, authored by Rep. Phil Krinkie, originally included a $10 million cut in arts fund-ing. On Apr. 27, Rep. Dan McElroy (R) authored a motion in Ways and Means Committee which restored $5 million of the funding, reducing the damage to a $5 million cut. There was then an attempt to restore the final $5 million on the House floor which failed because Republican leadership took the position that the money shouldnÕt be restored, despite the protests of many arts friends in a closed-door GOP caucus meeting. So, the bill went to conference with $5 million in cuts.

The conference committee then worked through the special session to come up with a compromise on this and many other issues, finally coming to a conclusion today, over a month after the regular session had ended.

IMPACT: The House cut could have resulted in deficits for many arts organizations, since it came from MN State Arts Board statewide programs, which include: Arts in Education, which funds artists in the schools, Arts Across Minnesota, which funds festivals and touring, General Operating Support, Formula Funds and Presenter Assistance, which fund over 100 larger organizations, and Arts Midwest, Folk Arts, and individual artist support programs. Some legislators said this cut wouldnÕt have impacted Greater MN. TheyÕre wrong! Grantees of these programs come from all over the state. Stable funding means these grants won’ t be cut, but there will be pressure from growth of field.

SUMMARY: The arts have not received any increases in funding for four years in the face of increased interest and demand for the arts in communities across the state. Fighting off the cuts means we can enjoy stable funding for another two years. However, an increase would have been both helpful and very needed.

OTHER LEGISLATION OF INTEREST: ü

Proposals to tax non-profits: Due to the efforts of the non-profit community, all were defeated. Go team!

Non-profit Ticket Tax Exemption: To be eligible, arts non-profits must now have 3% of their budgets in contributions to use the exemption in 2002, 4% in 2003, and 5% in 2004. (This language was changed at the last minute and may be slightly different).

Expansion of MN Charitable Giving Relief Act to 100% of contributions Ð not included in final tax bill.

Corporate charitable contributions Ð it appears they have made a “federal conformity” change.

Arts education: the Profile of Learning was not changed, so arts requirements are safe for now. However, budget crisis because of low education funding may jeopardize arts programs in local school districts.

Public Broadcasting: Conversion to digital TV partially funded. Public radio at level funding.

Humanities Commission: Funded at level funding.

MORE GOOD NEWS: U.S. Senate Panel Approves NEA Funding Increase

The Senate Interior Appropriations Committee met on June 28 and approved an increase of $10 million for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) in its version of the FY2002 Interior Appropriations Bill. This is the same increased appropriations level for the arts endowment as passed by the U.S. House last week. The bill, which is expected to go to the Senate floor after the July 4th recess, also includes an additional $5 million for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)-$2 million above the level approved by the House-and $2 million more for the Office of Museum Services, the same as in the House-passed bill. With legislation in both the U.S. Senate and House increasing the NEA’s FY02 budget by $10 million, there is no disagreement to be settled by a conference committee. The outcome is virtually assured at $115 million for the arts endowment in the coming year. The appropriations bill still must pass a vote on the Senate floor, and there is no indication of any move to cut the arts endowment’s money. Recent past attempts to defeat arts funding have failed in the Senate, as they failed in the House last week. Thanks to all for your dedicated advocacy on behalf of federal arts funding.

POSITION OPENING:

Operations Manager/Assistant to the Executive Director Minnesota Citizens for the Arts Minnesota Citizens for the Arts seeks a responsible person to assist the Executive Director in organizing statewide grassroots advocacy for the arts. Full-time salaried position with benefits requires office experience, computer literacy, writing/communication skills, ability to work independently and handle a variety of people with tact and intelligence. Knowledge of state political system and grassroots organizing and/or arts administration a plus. The position is 3/4 time for Minnesota Citizens for the Arts and 1/4 time for the Forum of Regional Arts Councils of MN. Salary mid twenties based on experience. Qualified candidates should send rŽsumŽ, cover letter to MCA by Monday, July 9, 2001 to the following address or fax: MINNESOTA CITIZENS FOR THE ARTS 708 N. First Street, Suite 235-D Minneapolis, MN 55401-1145 FAX: (612) 338-2907

WE ARE MOVING!

MCA will be moving to more roomy offices as of July 27, 2001. Our new address will be: 2233 University Avene #355, St. Paul, MN 55114. Email and web address will be the same. New phone numbers are not yet known.

June 6, 2001

The Governor and House and Senate leaders have not yet come to an agreement about the amount of spending, tax refunds and tax cuts that they will make this year. Without agreement on these larger issues, the committee charged with deciding how much money will go to the arts still cannot complete its work.

The State Government Finance Conference Committee, co-chaired by Senator Richard Cohen and Representative Phil Krinkie, has quit meeting about the bill. It is our understanding, however, that the Chairs continue to discuss possible deals. As of this writing, the House position continues to be a $5 million cut in arts funding and a $100,000 cap on grants, and the Senate position continues to be an increase in arts funding of $1.35 million with no cap. They will have to compromise somewhere.

It seems clear that a Special Session can’t now occur until at least Monday, if not later. Stay tuned.

May 25, 2001

This afternoon, the Governor, House and Senate agreed on a global deal regarding the targets for all conference committees. While the details of this deal are still unfolding, we have reason to believe that the State Government Finance Committee will come to a conclusion next week. There is still no date set for the special session. It is important that we all remain vigilant in communicating to the legislature our commitment to the arts.

May 21, 2001

Today was supposed to be the last day of the legislative session, but tri-partisan government isn’t as easy as it looks. The Governor and House and Senate leaders have not yet come to an agreement about the amount of spending, tax refunds and tax cuts that they will make this year. Without agreement on these larger issues, the committee charged with deciding how much money will go to the arts cannot complete its work.

The State Government Finance Conference Committee, co-chaired by Senator Richard Cohen and Representative Phil Krinkie, has been meeting for the last several days. No spending targets have been set for the committee, but offers have gone back and forth on the bill. The House opened with an offer to settle all of the issues in the bill at once, which included the Senate position on the arts (an increase in funding, plus no $100,000 limit on grants). The Senate responded to that offer with objections to other matters in the bill (unrelated to the arts).

On Saturday, in an angry response to the Senate’s objections, the House members retracted their offer and put us back at square one. The Senate made a variety of new offers today, including putting the arts money back, but the House members refuse to vote for them until they have spending targets. The exception is Rep. Jim Rhodes (R), who has consistently voted to restore arts funding. As of this writing, the House position continues to be a $5 million cut in arts funding and a $100,000 cap on grants, and the Senate position continues to be an increase in arts funding of $1.35 million with no cap. They will have to compromise somewhere.

The conclusion of the conference committee’s work will now have to happen in a special session, because we are assuming they won’t finish their work by midnight tonight, when technically the conference committee goes out of existence. The word today is that they will continue to work until agreement is reached, hopefully in the next couple of days or weeks. But, in any event, they must get some deal done by July 1, when state government will have to shut down if they don’t get their bill passed.

The Governor is saying he won’t call a special session until there’s agreement on all of these bills.
House and Senate leaders will probably keep the heat on the committee members to get them to finish their work this week.
Once the deals are ready, there could even be a special session later this week or next week.
Stay tuned.

May 10, 2001

The conference committee will start meeting today.

Are you a constituent of a conferee??? Call them! Ask them to: “take the Senate Position in the State Government Finance Bill: Increase arts funding with no grant caps!”
If your legislator isn’t on the committee, CALL THEM and request that they ask the conferees to take the Senate position on the arts.
THE LATEST: The members of the conference committee have finally been appointed and will begin meeting soon. The House bill contains a $5 million cut for the arts. The Senate bill contains a $1.35 million increase for the arts. What does this mean for the arts? We had been assured by several House members that “the arts money will be put back in conference committee.” Well, now’s the time to come through on that pledge. The two bills are very far apart and we want to prevent any cuts!

BACKGROUND: The House’s State Government Finance bill, authored by Rep. Phil Krinkie, originally included a $10 million cut in arts funding. On April 27, Rep. Dan McElroy authored a motion in the Ways and Means Committee which restored $5 million of the funding, reducing the damage to a $5 million cut. The House cuts will result in deficits for many arts organizations. The cut comes specifically out of the Minnesota State Arts Board grant programs, which include the following: Arts in Education, which funds artists in the schools statewide, Arts Across Minnesota, which funds festivals and touring statewide, General Operating Support, Formula Funds and Presenter Assistance, which fund over 100 larger organizations statewide, in addition to Arts Midwest, Folk Arts, and individual artist support programs.

Some legislators have said this won’t impact Greater Minnesota. They’re wrong! Grantees of these programs come from all over the state. In addition, Rep. Krinkie added language to the bill that would prevent any organization from receiving more than $100,000 per year in grants, even if it is from different programs with different purposes. That language would affect more than just the larger organizations. It would also affect organizations such as COMPAS which also provides services statewide. The arts have not received any increases in funding for four years in the face of increased interest and demand for the arts in communities across the state. The arts in Minnesota thrive in a statewide system of mutual support. This huge cut in arts funding would have an impact across the state.

Many legislators have said, “If I get five to ten calls on an issue, I know it’s important to my constituents.” YOUR CALL can make the difference for the arts.

May 4, 2001

We lose a battle, but the war’s not over yet

On Thursday, in the middle of the night, the Minnesota House failed to pass an amendment that would have restored the $5 million that had been cut from the arts by Rep. Phil Krinkie.

Thousands of calls, letters and e-mails have come into legislator’s offices since last week because of MCA alerts. As a result, some GOP members (Reps. Rhodes: R, St. Louis Park; Dempsey, R-Red Wing; and Ozment, R-Rosemount and others) asked their caucus in a closed-door meeting to restore the money. A group of MCA members and Arts Board staff waited outside the room. As the meeting broke, it was obvious by their faces that our friends had lost the argument. The caucus position was to be against restoring the arts funding and members voted accordingly.

On the House floor, Rep. Bill Hilty (D-Finlayson) moved to replace the arts cuts, but on a party line vote of 68-63, the motion was ruled out of order. This allowed them to avoid a recorded vote on restoring arts funding. Our friends voted against the motion but couldn’t stop it. Let’s be clear: a vote FOR this motion was a vote to avoid restoring the arts money.

To the many thousands of arts advocates who have contacted your legislators to ask them to support the arts, did they vote FOR or AGAINST this motion (see below)? If they voted AGAINST it, great: thank them. If they voted FOR it, call them up and complain that they didn’t vote to put the arts money back on the floor.

Session ends in just two weeks. There is no time to lose.

Abelar 49A (651) 296-1729 Y
Abrams 45A (651) 296-9934 Y
B. Anderson 19B (651) 296-5063 Y
I. Anderson 03A (651) 296-4936 N
Bakk 06A (651) 296-2190 N
Bernardy 48B (651) 296-5510 N
Biernat 59A (651) 296-4219 N
Bishop 30B (651) 296-0573 Y
Boudreau 25B (651) 296-8237 Y
Bradley 30A (651) 296-9249 Y
Buesgens 35B (651) 296-1072 Y
Carlson 46B (651) 296-4255 N
Cassell 10B (651) 296-4317 Y
Clark 23A (651) 296-9303 Y
Clark 61A (651) 296-0294 N
Daggett 11A (651) 296-4293 Y
Davids 31B (651) 296-9278 Y
Davnie 62A (651) 296-0173 N
Dawkins 65A (651) 296-5158 N
Dehler 14A (651) 296-7808 Y
Dempsey 29A (651) 296-8635 Y
Dibble 60B (651) 296-9281 N
Dorman 27A (651) 296-8216 Y
Dorn 24A (651) 296-3248 N
Eastlund 18A (651) 296-5364 Y
Entenza 64A (651) 296-8799 N
Erhardt 42A (651) 296-4363 Y
Erickson 17A (651) 296-6746 Y
Evans 52B (651) 296-0141 N
Finseth 01B (651) 296-9918 Y
Folliard 44A (651) 296-3964 Absent
Fuller 04A (651) 296-5516 Y
Gerlach 36A (651) 296-5506 Y
Gleason 63B (651) 296-5375 N
G oodno 09A (651) 296-5515 Y
Goodwin 52A (651) 296-4331 N
Gray 58B (651) 296-8659 N
Greiling 54B (651) 296-5387 N
Gunther 26A (651) 296-3240 Y
Haas 48A (651) 296-5513 Y
Hackbarth 50A (651) 296-2439 Y
Harder 22B (651) 296-5373 Y
Hausman 66B (651) 296-3824 N
Hilstrom 47B (651) 296-3709 N
Hilty 08B (651) 296-4308 N
Holberg 37B (651) 296-6926 Y
Holsten 56A (651) 296-3018 Y
Howes 04B (651) 296-2451 Y
Huntley 06B (651) 296-2228 N
Jacobson 53B (651) 296-3709 Y
Jaros 07B (651) 296-4246 N
Jennings 18B (651) 296-0518 N
J. Johnson 34B (651) 296-5511 Y
R. Johnson 24B (651) 296-7065 N
S. Johnson 67B (651) 296-4201 N
Juhnke 15A (651) 296-6206 N
Kahn 59B (651) 296-4257 N
Kalis 26B (651) 296-4240 N
Kelliher 60A (651) 296-0171 N
Kielkucki 20B (651) 296-1534 Y
Knoblach 16B (651) 296-6316 Y
Koskinen 49B (651) 296-4231 N
Krinkie 53A (651) 296-2907 Y
Kubly 15B (651) 296-4346 N
Kuisle 31A (651) 296-4378 Y
Larson 40A (651) 296-7158 N
Leighton, Jr. 27B (651) 296-4193 N
Lenczewski 40B (651) 296-4218 N
Leppik 45B (651) 296-7026 Y
Lieder 02A (651) 296-5091 N
Lindner 33A (651) 296-7806 Y
Lipman 56B (651) 296-4244 Y
Luther 47A (651) 296-3751 N
Mahoney 67A (651) 296-4277 N
Mares 55A (651) 296-5363 Y
Mariani 65B (651) 296-9714 N
Marko 57B (651) 296-3135 N
Marquart 09B (651) 296-3135 N
McElroy 36B (651) 296-4212 Y
McGuire 54A (651) 296-4342 N
Milbert 39B (651) 296-4192 N
Molnau 35A (651) 296-8872 Y
Mulder 21B (651) 296-4336 Y
Mullery 58A (651) 296-4262 N
Murphy 08A (651) 296-2676 N
Ness 20A (651) 296-4344 Y
Nornes 10A (651) 296-4946 Y
Olson 19A (651) 296-4237 Absent
Opatz 16A (651) 296-6612 N
Osskopp 29B (651) 296-9236 Y
Osthoff 66A (651) 296-4224 N
Otremba 11B (651) 296-3201 N
Ozment 37A (651) 296-4306 Y
Paulsen 42B (651) 296-7449 Y
Pawlenty 38B (651) 296-4128 Y
Paymar 64B (651) 296-4199 N
Pelowski 32A (651) 296-8637 N
Penas 01A (651) 296-9635 Y
Peterson 13B (651) 296-4228 N
Pugh 39A (651) 296-6828 N
Rhodes 44B (651) 296-9889 Y
Rifenberg 32B (651) 296-1069 Y
Rukavina 05A (651) 296-0170 N
Ruth 28A (651) 296-5368 Y
Schumacher 17B (651) 296-5377 N
Seagren 41A (651) 296-7803 Y
Seifert 21A (651) 296-5374 Y
Sertich 05B (651) 296-0172 N
Skoe 02B (651) 296-4265 N
Skoglund 62B (651) 296-4330 N
Slawik 57A (651) 296-7807 N
Smith 34A (651) 296-9188 Y
Solberg 03B (651) 296-2365 N
S tanek 33B (651) 296-5502 Y
Stang 14B (651) 296-4373 Y
Sviggum 28B (651) 296-2273 Y
Swapinski 07A (651) 296-4282 N
Swenson 23B (651) 296-8634 Y
Sykora 43B (651) 296-4315 Y
Thompson 46A (651) 296-4176 N
Tingelstad 50B (651) 296-5369 Y
Tuma 25A (651) 296-4229 Y
Vandeveer 51B (651) 296-4124 Y
Wagenius 63A (651) 296-4200 N
Walker 61B (651) 296-7152 Absent
Walz 12A (651) 296-4333 Y
Wasiluk 55B (651) 296-1188 N
Wenzel 12B (651) 296-4247 N
Westerberg 51A (651) 296-4226 Y
Westrom 13A (651) 296-4929 Y
Wilkin 38A (651) 296-3533 Y
Winter 22A (651) 296-5505 N
Wolf 41B (651) 296-5185 Y
Workman 43A (651) 296-5066 Y

May 1, 2001

Holy cow, can we make a fuss when we want to or what?

WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING: The House has delayed hearing the bill - HF218, the State Government Finance Bill, on the House floor until Thursday. At first we thought it was because we were making so much fuss, but apparently it’s for procedural reasons. That gives you another day to call your legislator if you haven’t had a chance to do it yet. You should know that the House phone system crashed several times yesterday because so many calls were coming in. You can all pat yourselves on the back for doing such a great job!

We’ve coordinated dozens of people who combined made over 3000 calls into targeted districts to get people to call their legislators in 48 hours. In addition, we got permission from over 200 people to put their name on a “Put the Arts Money Back!” letter that will be delivered to legislator desks on the House floor when the bill is finally heard. We’ve all worked well into the night and through the weekend for the last week. We’re getting tired but you can’t say we haven’t done all that we could.

The 14,000 piece postcard campaign was completely out by last Wednesday (in about two days), thanks to a bunch of people who volunteered to label and stamp them. Postcards began reaching legislators by at least last Thursday, and we’ve gotten around 400 confirmation postcards back to our office so far from people who sent it in. The timing for the postcards couldn’t be better. From previous experience we know that they will come in a long wave over about two weeks, which means they will continue to arrive through the conference committee meeting period.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT:
The bill will probably be heard on Thursday.
If you haven’t had a chance to call your legislators yet, you still have time.
Tell them to “Put ALL the arts money back!”
If you need your legislator’s name and number, give us a call at 612-338-2970.
BACKGROUND: HF 218, authored by Rep. Phil Krinkie, originally included a $10 million cut in arts funding. Last Friday Rep. Dan McElroy authored a motion in the Ways and Means Committee which restored $5 million of the funding, reducing the damage to a $5 million cut. The House position will result in deficits for many arts organizations. The cut comes specifically out of the Minnesota State Arts Board grant programs, which include the following: Arts in Education, Arts Across Minnesota, General Operating Support and Formula Funds, Presenter Assistance, Arts Midwest, Folk Arts, and individual artist support programs. In addition, Rep. Krinkie added language to the bill that would prevent any organization from receiving more than $100,000 per year in grants, even if it is from different programs with different purposes.

April 28, 2001

$5 Million of $10 Million Restored in Committee, But We’re Only Halfway There

Call your House member by MONDAY!!! THIS IS NOT A DRILL!!!

TELL THEM: “PUT ALL THE ARTS MONEY BACK!”

Although Rep. Dan McElroy (R-Burnsville) was successful in reducing the arts cut from $10 million to $5 million in the House Ways and Means Committee on Friday (yeah!) we are still in jeopardy.

The Krinkie cut is still so severe that it would be extraordinarily difficult to repair it in conference committee so we must repair the damage on the House floor. The Conference Committee will have limited money to resolve differences between the House and Senate positions. While the McElroy motion helped significantly, we are VERY CONCERNED that restoring the remaining $5 million cut in conference committee will be very difficult.

You should know that Republican members of the House are being told by Rep. Krinkie that the cut is solely to be used to strengthen his negotiating position with the Senate when they get to conference committee. However, Rep. Krinkie’s long standing opposition to arts funding causes us to believe that his real intention is to succeed in eliminating funding to at least the largest of our arts organizations. He has been very direct about this intention.

The House position will result in deficits for many arts organizations. The cut comes specifically out of the Minnesota State Arts Board grant programs, which include the following: Arts in Education, Arts Across Minnesota, General Operating Support and Formula Funds, Presenter Assistance, Arts Midwest, Folk Arts, and individual artist support programs. In addition, Rep. Krinkie added language to the bill that would prevent any organization from receiving more than $100,000 per year in grants, even if it is from different programs with different purposes.

We must get the House to vote to restore ALL the arts funding on the floor next week.

This is where you come in: CALL your representative right away. Call them at home this weekend, or at their office on Monday. Call MCA’s offices if you need to find out who your legislators are and need their phone numbers. We’ll be at the MCA office from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and also possibly on Sunday if we aren’t too exhausted. If we aren’t here, leave a message with your home address and we’ll call you back as soon as we are in the office to tell you who your legislators are. Postcards and calls have already started to roll into legislative offices. Keep up the great work!

April 26, 2001

As we have been reporting for the last month, there is trouble for the arts in the Minnesota House. Last night our worst fears came true.

Despite the valiant efforts of long time arts friends Rep. Jim Rhodes (R-St. Louis Park) and Rep. Phyllis Kahn (D-Mpls.), we were unable to overcome the powerful chair of the committee, Rep. Phil Krinkie (R-Shoreview) who cut $10 million out of the arts appropriation. The cut comes specifically out of the MN State Arts Board grant programs, which include the following: Arts in Education, Folk Arts, Arts Across Minnesota, General Operating Support and Formula Funds, Presenter Assistance, Arts Midwest, and individual artist support programs. In addition, Rep. Krinkie added language to the bill that would prevent any organization from receiving more than $100,000 per year in grants, even if it is from different programs with different purposes.

MCA VIGOROUSLY OPPOSED ALL OF THESE ACTIONS. Last night, as in past years when the Regional Arts Councils or when arts organizations have been attacked, MCA stood up to protect the entire statewide arts community. An attack against any member of our coalition is an attack against our entire coalition. These cuts must not be allowed to stand.

Most frustrating of all, at nearly midnight after hearings that had been going on all day, an unsuccessful attempt was made by Rep. Rhodes to restore $5M of the $10M cut. Because the House had set artificially low spending targets for this committee Rep. Rhodes was forced to move to take money away from other parts of the bill that had strong support of committee members including many longtime friends of the arts. Put in the impossible position of supporting either one or the other very important programs, they couldn’t support Rep. Rhodes motion and it failed.

And the irony is that the state is experiencing yet another budget surplus.

WHAT MCA IS DOING TODAY: As we write this, the action of this committee is not yet 12 hours old. We are meeting with Rep. Rhodes and with Republican and Democratic leadership in the House and conferring with our other arts hero Sen. Richard Cohen (D-St. Paul). After we’ve completed conversations with key legislators we will get back to you about our next steps.

WHAT YOU SHOULD BE DOING: MCA’s massive postcard campaign went out in the mail yesterday and it has become even more important now. We still have several thousand postcards available in the office for you to send to arts supporters. Please call our office to get them. And call your House member to complain about this cut! We expect the State Government Finance Bill to be heard in the Ways and Means Committee and on the House floor sometime next week. Later this afternoon and Friday we’ll sort out what our next steps must be to restore the money. Pay attention to alerts because action will now happen on a daily basis.

AT LEAST WE’RE DOING BETTER IN THE SENATE:
Sen. Cohen has included a $1.5M increase in his bill, split 50-50 between the Regional Arts Councils and Minnesota State Arts Board grants. This will be helpful to us when we reach the conference committee, but we must work to restore the cuts made in the House first.

April 19, 2001

We continue to be concerned about arts funding in the Minnesota House of Representatives. Over the past week, MCA friends and members by the hundreds have been calling their representatives in the House to ask them to protect arts funding. We’ve decided that we need to add to their voices by conducting a 12,000-piece postcard campaign.

The first cards will be mailed on Monday as they arrive in batches from the printer. By Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning, we will have postcards available for you at our office. Please give us a call if you or your organization would like a set of postcards to mail to your friends or members ASAP next week. We will distribute the cards until they are gone. (If you are in the metro, it would be great if you could drop by and pick them up). Our message is: “Please don’t let them cut the arts, in fact, please help us get an increase!”

Situation

Problem #1: Rep. Phil Krinkie, chair of the State Government Finance Committee in the House, has introduced a bill which would cut the arts appropriation by 42% from approximately $13 million per year to approximately $7.6 million per year for the next two years. Any cut in the arts appropriation is uncalled for in this time of budget surpluses. There is absolutely no justification for this proposal.

Problem #2: Across the state there is an increased demand for arts services and activities as more and more areas see the importance of providing access to arts and culture to all of their citizens. However, state arts funding has remained stagnant now for the past four years, and grants are shrinking due to growth of field and increased needs across the state. We certainly don’t need a cut in arts funding, we need an increase! Action Needed & Timing To succeed during the upcoming committee discussions, arts advocates must contact their legislators now.

The outcome will depend upon what legislators hear from their constituents. It is imperative that arts supporters call & write ASAP.

April 11, 2001

Arts Funding Under Siege:
House Chair proposes cuts at time of increased arts needs across the state

There are two serious problems facing arts funding in Minnesota:

Problem #1: Rep. Phil Krinkie, chair of the State Government Finance Committee in the House, has introduced a bill which would cut the arts appropriation by 42% from approximately $13 million per year to approximately $7.6 million per year for the next two years. Any cut in the arts appropriation is uncalled for in this time of budget surpluses. There is absolutely no justification for this proposal.

Problem #2: Across the state there is an increased demand for arts services and activities as more and more areas see the importance of providing access to arts and culture to all of their citizens. However, state arts funding has remained stagnant now for the past four years, and grants are shrinking due to growth of field and increased needs across the state. We certainly don’t need a cut in arts funding, we need an increase!

As of this writing, we are not sure of the outcome of this legislative session. We are in close consultation with arts heroes Rep. Jim Rhodes and Sen. Richard Cohen.

Although it has been difficult to know where we stand until now, we do know that the serious appropriations work is scheduled to begin after the legislature’s Easter break. It is imperative that arts supporters give their legislators a call and ask them to support increased arts funding immediately.