With less than three weeks remaining in the 2019 Legislative Session, we ask you to contact your legislators and urge them to support the recommendations of the Connecticut Arts Alliance, the Connecticut Tourism Coalition, CT Humanities, the Connecticut Restaurant Association, and the Connecticut Marine Trades Association.
What We’re Asking
- Allocate 25% of lodging tax revenue into the Tourism Fund (the current allocation is 10%).
- Define in legislation the industry-supported ratio of investment within the fund of 60% to tourism and 40% to arts & culture.
Talking Points
- Increasing the amount of lodging tax revenue collected that is re-invested into arts, culture and tourism will increase jobs, spur economic growth, and increase tax revenue to the state.
- Defining a 60/40 allocation within the Tourism Fund reflects and maintains current investment ratios.
- Defining a 60/40 allocation ensures predictable funding to both arts & culture and to tourism, as the Tourism Fund amount will change over time.
- There is a $7 to $1 return on investment (ROI) for arts and culture investment and $3 to $1 for tourism investment.
- Language supporting the allocations can be added to an existing bill or to a budget implementer bill.
Advocacy Tools You Can Use
- ACT Funding Proposal (showing a breakdown of the current and proposed investment)
- Arts Investment Quick Facts
- ACT Policy Committee Recommendations
Click here to identify and contact your legislators. Please also contact Legislative Leaders and leadership of the Appropriations Committee and Finance Committee.
Please SHARE this email with board members, staff, volunteers, and others who you can ask to make a phone call, send an email, or reach out to representatives to stress the importance and value of including this language in a bill this legislative session.
CAA is Connecticut’s ONLY statewide arts advocacy organization. If you agree that the advocacy efforts of Connecticut Arts Alliance on behalf of arts and culture in our state are important, please consider becoming a Charter Member today!
The Board and Staff of Connecticut Arts Alliance have written to the State’s Federal legislators and are reaching out to all arts supporters to help save and encourage funding of the National Endowment for the Arts.
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