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Subcommittee F hears testimony on HB 9 cultural and aesthetic grant requests
Summary
Subcommittee F took testimony from two dozen Montana cultural organizations on operating and project grants proposed in House Bill 9, hearing requests for programs from the Flathead Valley to southeast Montana and asking staff for supplemental applicant information.
Subcommittee F of the Montana Legislature on HB 9 heard in-person and remote testimony from more than two dozen arts and cultural organizations seeking operational or project funding from the Cultural and Aesthetic Grants program funded by coal severance taxes.
The hearing matters because HB 9 would appropriate Cultural and Aesthetic Grants (CAGP) money — largely drawn from the Coal Severance Tax Trust Fund and administered through the Montana Arts Council — to dozens of small and mid-sized arts organizations across the state. Committee members said they want basic organizational data and the fiscal-status paperwork necessary to decide which projects to fund before the committee closes the bill next week.
Committee chair and staff opened the session by describing two handouts: an explanation of the coal severance tax trust fund and a spreadsheet listing CAGP applicants with recommended funding and the recommended funding as a share of total project cost. Then executive directors, artistic directors and other representatives testified in roughly five-minute slots about community reach, program activities and how grant funds would be used.
Presenters emphasized rural reach and educational programs. Cynthia Benkelman, executive director…
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