July 24, 2013

CONNECTICUT STATE BUDGETFINAL FY14-FY15 The Connecticut State Legislature approved a biennial budget on June 2, 2013. The Appropriations Committee established an Arts Commission and transfers funding from the Culture, Tourism and Arts grant account in the amount of $1,797,830 for both FY 14 & FY 15. This represents a reduction from $2 million from FY…

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June 6, 2013

Federal Issues: The Charitable Deduction The House Ways and Means Committee has had 11 Working groups that have been meeting on various topics and putting together policy options looking ahead to tax reform efforts. We are continuing to monitor a possible threat to the charitable deduction. The Alliance for Charitable Reform, has circulated a letter…

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April 29, 2013

NPR Series Highlights the Benefits of Arts Education: Last week National Public Radio (NPR) broadcast four programs describing the “intersection of education and the arts”. Chuck Close reflects on Learning School Lessons Through Art. One of the superstar artists connected with the Turnaround Arts Initiative is painter Chuck Close. He says that when he was growing…

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April 17, 2013

CONGRESSWOMAN ROSA DELAURO SPEAKS OUT FOR THE ARTS On April 9th,  the Honorable Rosa DeLauro spoke at Arts Advocacy Day in Washington DC, sponsored by Americans for the Arts. Here are her remarks: Thank you, and good morning. I am so pleased to be here, and to see such an enthusiastic crowd ready to make…

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March 27, 2013

CONGRESS MOVES FY 2014 BUDGET PLANS AND AVOIDS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN The U.S. House of Representatives and Senate introduced and passed out of committee two starkly contrasting resolutions that serve as each chamber’s blueprint for the federal government’s FY 2014 budget. While these proposals are non-binding and do not need the signature of the president, they…

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March 13, 2013

State Budget Update In February, the governor released his FY14-15 budget.    Funding for the arts (now part of the Dept of Economic and Community Development) is recommended as follows: – 5% rescissions on line items  from FY 13 are carried forward into SFY 14 & 15; otherwise no further reductions to line items – The…

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December 10, 2012

Connecticut’s  Arts Sector Contributes $163 million to the State’s economy On December 7, 2012,  The Connecticut Office of the Arts and the Connecticut Arts Alliance hosted an event at Waterbury’s Palace Theater to  release the state’s Arts and Economic Prosperity report detailing the nonprofit arts and cultural industry’s impact on Connecticut’s economy. This, the 4th…

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May 1, 2012

Governors Look to Arts, Culture and Design to Create Economic Growth With concerns over job creation and business growth holding a prominent—and persistent—position on policy agendas today, governors are increasingly finding innovative ways to support economic growth, according to a new report out today from the National Governors Association (NGA). New Engines of Growth: Five…

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April 5, 2012

U.S. Department of Education released a study entitled Arts Education in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools 1999-2000 and 2009-10. This study was previously published in 2002 and highlights the impact that the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) has had on arts education. U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan stated, “despite the importance of providing equal…

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