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Tourism and arts advocates press Commerce Committee to dedicate meals‑tax revenue to tourism fund
Summary
Representatives of Connecticut Humanities, the Restaurant Association, and nonprofit coalitions urged the Commerce Committee to approve Senate Bill 1456, which would allocate a portion of the meals-and‑beverage tax to arts, culture and tourism. Witnesses provided economic data and urged state investment to boost visitation and local businesses.
Jason Mancini, executive director of Connecticut Humanities, and other arts and tourism advocates told the Commerce Committee that the state should dedicate a portion of the 1% meals-and‑beverage tax to the tourism fund to support arts, culture and tourism programs.
“We're requesting a total of $22,000,000 investment,” Mancini said, describing a statewide network of nearly 750 cultural nonprofits that he said act as small businesses and community anchors. He cited an Americans for the Arts report with statewide figures: total industry expenditures of $955,000,000; personal income to state residents of $826,000,000; local and state tax revenue of $90,000,000; total in‑person attendance of 10,800,000; and total event‑related expenditures of $348,000,000.
Representing the Connecticut Restaurant Association, Scott Dolch said the 1% meals tax has been an important revenue stream. “The 1% in the last 5 years as a whole has generated $415,000,000 to the general fund,” he told the committee. Dolch calculated that dedicating 10% of that 1% to tourism would yield roughly $10,700,000 annually and noted the tourism office’s budget reductions: he said the tourism office budget was $12.1 million previously, was $7.5 million at the time of testimony, and was scheduled to fall to $4.5 million on July 1.
Julia Wilcox of the Connecticut Community Nonprofit Alliance testified in support of Senate Bill 1456, saying that nonprofit arts and culture organizations serve communities statewide and that investment in the sector has multiplier effects for restaurants, retail and local businesses. Wilcox and Mancini backed a proposal from arts and tourism groups to divide dedicated meals‑tax revenue among municipalities, tourism programming, and local arts services.
On questions from the committee, several members said they recognized tourism and cultural investment as economic drivers but noted budget constraints. Senators and representatives at the hearing urged continued discussions between advocates, DECD and appropriations staff to find funding approaches that fit current fiscal limits.
Ending note: Committee members acknowledged the testimony and said they would consider the allocation proposal alongside the governor’s budget and appropriations deliberations.
