EVERETT – Though it’s one thing to talk about building senior centers, the amount of money lost from the arts because of SB 5163 wouldn’t be enough to cover the cost of such civic projects, a critic says.
Sen. Steve Hobbs, D-Lake Stevens, has introduced Senate Bill 5163, which would remove the requirement to purchase art for public buildings for the years 2010 and 2011.
Current state law requires agencies to set aside half of 1 percent of the cost of any new government building to purchase public art.
But Judy Tuohy, executive director for the Arts Council of Snohomish County, said the bill would do more harm than good.
“While I am not negating the importance of other community projects, the reality is that the amount of money generated from the one-half of 1 percent for art — less than one-quarter of 1 percent of the state’s total capital budget — would be insufficient to support and make any impact on any capital projects across the state,” Tuohy said.
She said the impact of the loss of the money from the arts “would most certainly outweigh the benefits to other capital projects.”
Hobbs says that lifting the public arts requirement for the years 2010 and 2011 would free up as much as $5 million, which could be put toward other projects, such as a new senior center.
Tuohy maintained that the amount from the arts program wouldn’t come anywhere near a $5 million savings. She calculated that the total capital budget for 2007-09 is $4.3 billion. The amount that went to the arts program in 2008 totaled $2 million, she said.
On his blog, Hobbs said that during this economic downturn, there should be no “sacred cows.”
Hobbs said he sat through a committee hearing in which people were defending the need to spend money to immunize the state’s poorest children. In these times, supporters of the arts are going to have to come to Olympia and defend why their program shouldn’t be temporarily suspended.
“It’s time for everyone who needs money to come up here and say why it is that we should not delay your particular funding in light of this horrible budget situation,” Hobbs said. “The fact is we are going over a cliff economically.”
This bill’s shelf-life lasts until after 2011. After that, state funding for public art would automatically resume, Hobbs said.
Hobbs’ bill has a companion bill, House Bill 1376, introduced by Rep. Mike Hope, R-Lake Stevens. Hope said he was looking to save money in a year when the state needs to fill a near $6 billion shortfall.
“Money is hard to find in Olympia, and even though the capital budget does not have a shortfall like the operating budget, we should try to make every dollar stretch a bit further,” Hope said in a prepared statement.
Hobbs said he welcomed Hope’s bill and called the bipartisan support “a little extra umph.”
“We’re all in this together,” Hobbs said. “I think it says a lot when a Democrat sponsors a bill like this. It shows people there are no sacred cows and that we are being fiscally responsible.”
The Washington Arts Commission, which manages the Art in Public Places program, said the arts are also important to Washington’s economic recovery.
The commission said history has shown that investments in the arts made a difference during the Great Depression when programs such as the Federal Arts Project of the Works Progress Administration helped America emerge from that terrible economic crisis.
“Washington’s public art program was established in 1974 and has made our state’s buildings better, improved schools in all parts of the state, enhanced our public spaces and provided jobs for hundreds of artists, fabricators, technicians, and other skilled workers,” the arts commission said in a prepared statement.
The arts commission and Tuohy agreed that art contributes to community revitalization.
“Art expresses our cultures, nurtures livelihoods, entertains, teaches, inspires thought, challenges, connects us and provides a sense of place in our communities,” Tuohy said. “The arts have a crucial impact on our economy and are a vital component of creating communities where families want to live and work.”
Reporter Theresa Goffredo: 425-339-3424 or goffredo@heraldnet.com.
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