May 31, 2011, 1:50 pm
Gov. Sam Brownback, Republican of Kansas, has eliminated the state’s Arts Commission as part of an effort to slash state spending by 6 percent, the Associated Press reports. That makes Kansas the only state without a unit to channel government money to arts and culture groups, says the advocacy group Americans for the Arts.
Mr. Brownback vetoed a line item in the Legislature’s state budget that had set aside $689,000 for the arts commission, saying: “The arts will continue to thrive in Kansas when funded by private donations, and I intend to personally involve myself in efforts to make this happen,” the Associated Press writes. He proposes to replace the state agency with a state-subsidized private foundation to promote the arts.
Robert Lynch, president of Americans for the Arts, said in a statement that Kansas will now be ineligible for matching grants from the National…
May 24, 2011, 9:10 am
Leah Gardner
Leah Gardner, outreach coordinator at the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits’ Minnesota Budget Project, wrote this guest post for the State Watch blog:
Minnesota is facing a $5-billion budget shortfall and the Legislature is unfortunately taking a “cuts only” approach to closing the gap. The Minnesota Council of Nonprofits is a lead partner along with other religious, labor, and nonprofit groups in a coalition that is trying to persuade lawmakers that they should take a balanced approach that includes raising revenue.
Our coalition, Invest in Minnesota, decided to highlight the impact of 20 specific proposed budget cuts by starting a “20 Ways in 20 Days Campaign” over the last 20 days of the legislative session, which ended on Monday without a budget agreement.
One story was…
May 23, 2011, 10:37 am
The North Carolina House of Representatives has approved a bill that would require nonprofit organizations that receive government money to provide financial statements to anyone who makes a written request, says the Wilmington StarNews.
The bill—introduced by Rep. Carolyn Justice, a Republican—follows a controversy over a nonprofit group that received city and county money to plan the commissioning of a ship but was slow to say how it was spent. It would require nonprofits to give details about how much government money they received and how they used it.
A couple of legislators expressed concern that the bill did not address for-profit companies as well.
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State Watch tracks how state and local budgets and policies affect the nonprofit world. Suzanne Perry, a senior editor at The Chronicle covering government issues, seeks ideas and examples for this blog from all 50 states. To share what’s happening in your state, e-mail her or connect with her on Twitter.
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