Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Governor proposes 5% boost to Mass Cultural Council operating budget; Council and advocates prepare testimony
Summary
Public Affairs staff said the Governor's FY27 budget recommendation would provide $27.35 million to the Mass Cultural Council (a 5% increase); Council members and partners including MASSCreative are urging the legislature to retain the recommendation and to fund a Poet Laureate stipend and other bills under consideration.
Public Affairs Director Bethann Steiner told the Council on Feb. 25 that the Governor's FY27 recommendation for the Mass Cultural Council operating budget is $27.35 million, an increase of 5 percent from the prior year and, if enacted, the agency's highest operating budget to date.
Steiner said the Agency has met with legislative champions and planned outreach to the House Ways & Means Chairman next week, and that MASSCreative circulated a thank-you letter to the Governor and an advocacy letter to the House and Senate seeking retention of the recommendation. The Council also plans to request a $25,000 funded earmark to maintain the Poet Laureate stipend as it did in FY26 and to press for advancement of two bills—the "STEM to STEAM" bill and a Cultural Facilities Fund amendment—both of which have advanced from initial committees to House or Senate Ways & Means review.
Steiner said staff expect to testify in a Barnstable budget hearing on March 9. Acting Executive Director David Slatery and Council members framed the FY27 proposal as an opportunity to sustain and expand the cultural sector's visibility across state economic and tourism initiatives.
The Council is watching the legislative process and conducting advocacy with partners; final funding will depend on the House and Senate budget deliberations later in the session.
