The official Americans for the Arts
State Arts Advocacy Captain for California
CAA is solely supported by membership dues from organizations and individuals.
Save the date: March 5, 2008 Arts Advocacy Day at the State Capitol.
Legislative Update: January 21, 2008
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Working for more funding for more art for more people.
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Together, we can do this.
1. AB 1365 (D-Karnette) requires that 20% of existing sales tax charged in two specific retail categories pertaining to arts, crafts and music be transferred to the California Arts Council (CAC).
Two recent news articles highlighted CAA's efforts to gain support in the field and in the legislature for the passage of AB 1365: Backstage West and the San Francisco Chronicle. Read more...
The following organizations responded to CAA's action alert and have registered their support for AB 1365 by faxing letters to Assembly Member Betty Karnette:
Affiliates of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Alliance for California Traditional Arts, Armory Center for the Arts, Art of the Matter, Arts & Culture Commission of Contra Costa County, Arts Council of the Conejo Valley, Arts Council of Long Beach, Arts for LA, Arts Orange County, Association of California Symphony Orchestras, Autry National Center, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Bethune Theatredanse, Calaveras County Arts Council, California Arts Advocates, California Association of Museums, California Indian Basketweavers Association, California Lawyers for the Arts, California Presenters, Chamber Music Monterey Bay, City of Glendale, Cultural Affairs, City of San Diego Commission for Arts & Culture, City of Ventura Cultural Affairs, Community Redevelopment Agency, City of LA, CounterPULSE, Crowded Fire Theater Company, Cultural Odyssey, Dance Resource Center for Greater Los Angeles, Dancers Group, Diablo Light Opera Company, El Dorado Arts Council, Eugene O'Neill Foundation, Tao House, Fierce Theatricals, Gagen, Mcoy, McMahon, Ross, Markowitz & Raines Law Firm, Grand Performances, LA Artcore, LA Inc., LA Stage Alliance, Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach Symphony, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Madison Project, Performing Arts Center of Santa Monica College, Marin Theatre Company Mariposa County Arts Council, Mesopotamian Opera Company, Modesto Symphony, Mo`olelo, Music Center, Musical Theatre West, Musicians Union Local 6, Nanette Brodie Dance Theatre, Ojai Music Festival, Pacific Symphony, Pear Avenue Theatre, Performing Arts Workshop, Professional Musicians of California, Professional Musicians, Local 47, San Diego Youth Symphony & Conservatory, San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, San Francisco Theater Festival, Santa Barbara Symphony, Shakespeare Festival/LA, Sierra Mountain Music Camp, South Coast Repertory, Southern Exposure, The Center Theatre Group, The Colony Theatre Company, The heART Project, The Mesopotamian Opera Company, The Museum of Contemporary Art, The Z Space Studio, Theatre Bay Area, Theatre West, TheatreFirst, TheatreWorks, USC, Roski School of Fine Arts, Ventura County Arts Council and WebPlay.
Did your organization register its support? Support legislation that guarantees an increased funding stream for the CAC that will bring arts to all Californians! Write a letter today!
Click here for sample letter. Assembly Member Karnette's Capitol Office FAX #: (916) 319-2154
2. California Arts Advocates sponsor two resolutions that shine a spotlight on the arts.
ACR 85 was introduced, Assembly Member Jones (D-Sacramento) last week, designating Arts Month. This measure would proclaim the month of February 2008 as Arts Month. This measure also would declare the intent of the Legislature to seriously address how the state can better organize itself to preserve and foster the state's world-class arts and cultural environment. This measure would recognize the economic, educational, and civic value of preservation, public presentation, and promotion of the arts, culture, and cultural heritage that provides access for all Californians. This measure would declare that the Legislature
welcomes recommendations on additional actions, as appropriate, to preserve the state's cultural and historic resources and to strengthen administrative structures in state government responsible for administration of those resources.
SCR 70 was introduced by Senator Jack Scott (D-Altadean), the chair of the Joint Legislative Committee on the Arts to recognize the California Arts Council's more than 30 years of service to the state's residents and visitors. It would also proclaim October 3, 2008 as Arts Day.
3. California Arts Advocates Arts Advocacy Day at the State Capitol on March 5, 2008.
Join arts supporters, arts stakeholders, community leaders, capital staff members, and representatives from arts and culture organizations, convention and visitors bureaus, government agencies, foundations, educational centers who are attending the California Arts Council's annual statewide conference on March 4 and California Arts Advocates Advocacy Day at the State Capitol on March 5. Read more... To add your organization's contact information to the events registration mailing list, please email Advocacy@CaliforniaArtsAdvocates.org.
4. President signs FY 2008 Omnibus appropriations bill increasing the NEA by $20.3 million.
On December 26, 2007, President Bush signed the FY 2008 Omnibus appropriations bill allocating $144.7 million in funding for the National Endowment for the Arts—a $20.3 million increase over last year's funding. This 16 percent increase is the single largest increase for the agency in 30 years and reflects years of advocacy to restore the NEA to the funding levels it once had in the mid-90s. Read more... California Arts Advocates will again lead the California delegation of arts supporters to the Americans for the Arts annual Arts Advocacy Day in Washington, DC on March 31/April 1. Join more than 400 committed arts advocates for advocacy training, information sessions, the Nancy Hanks Lecture at the Kennedy Center, the annual Congressional breakfast and visits on Capitol Hill. Read more...
5. January 22 is the deadline to register to vote in the CA Presidential Primary on February 5.
Register to vote forms must be postmarked by January 22 for residents wanting to vote in the California Presidential Primary on February 5. For voter registration information, visit the California Secretary of State website, California Arts Advocates Arts Vote 2008 and Americans for the Arts Election 2008 and Arts Action Fund.
Make your advocacy efforts quick and easy: Click here for a generic sample letter (word document) that you and your colleagues can use to copy and paste, and save on your desk top for future communications with your elected officials at all levels of government about numerous issues that impact your organization and the arts in California.
There are 37 million reasons to fund more art for more people. Support the passage of AB 1365.
Thank you to the following organizations and individuals whose membership makes CAA's advocacy work in Sacramento and Washington, D.C. possible.
