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Arts Groups Urge Committee to Reject DLS Proposal to Cut State Arts Council Funding
Summary
Multiple arts organizations and the Maryland State Arts Council urged the subcommittee to reject DLS recommendations to level‑fund or cut the MSAC appropriation, saying the statutory growth formula stabilizes nonprofits and leverages private support across all 24 jurisdictions.
Representatives of Maryland’s arts sector told the Education and Economic Development Subcommittee that the Maryland State Arts Council (MSAC) plays a central role in sustaining arts organizations statewide, and urged the panel not to adopt DLS recommendations to reduce or redirect dedicated revenues.
DLS had recommended reducing the FY2027 general fund appropriation for MSAC to level with FY2026 and proposed eliminating a $1 million annual distribution from the admissions and amusement tax — a distribution that statutorily supports MSAC grantmaking. In testimony, Steven Scarret Davis, MSAC’s executive director, said the council is oversubscribed: the agency received 3,761 applications and funded 1,119 last year. "We don't leave money on the table," he said, adding that the stabilizing formula supports long‑range planning and helps attract private investment.
Arts advocates echoed those concerns. Nicholas Cohen of Maryland Citizens for the Arts warned that weakening the 1994 Arts Stabilization Act would destabilize organizations that rely on predictable state support to plan programs, hire staff, and attract matching funds. Ruby Lopez Harper, chair of MSAC, and other presenters said the sector generates sizable economic activity across the state and is a workforce sector that supports creative jobs.
Commerce officials defended the sector’s economic value during the department’s testimony, noting that tourism and the arts factor into broader business‑attraction strategies. Committee members pressed for further detail on MSAC grant demand and asked whether program funds were being used fully; MSAC testified that grants are oversubscribed and that any reduction would narrow support across rural, suburban and urban communities.
The subcommittee did not take a vote during the hearing. Lawmakers requested follow‑up data on grant applications, awards by jurisdiction, and modeled fiscal impacts before final appropriation decisions are made.
