Hartford Business Journal

20 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | FEBRUARy 20, 2023 Funding Fight In new alliance, arts and tourism industries team up to lobby for major state funding increase By Robert Storace rstorace@hartfordbusiness.com S till looking to fully recover from the pandemic's negative impacts, Connecticut's tourism and arts organizations have teamed up to make an aggressive push for more state funding. Their request — outlined in a two-page memo put together by the CT Arts Alliance, CT Humanities and CT Tourism Coalition — is for $58.5 million annually, more than double what the state currently spends to promote the sectors. The funding would include $25 million for statewide marketing to promote Connecticut's theaters, museums, theme parks, casinos and other tourist attractions. Industry leaders said the funding is critical because Connecticut has traditionally fallen behind its neigh- boring states on arts investment, and that for every $1 invested in arts, culture and tourism, there is a $3 return. That means a $58.5-million invest- ment would yield a $175-million economic impact, advocates said. Rev. Shelley Best, CEO of the Greater Hartford Arts Council, said arts are the lifeblood of Connecticut commu- nities and should be vigorously supported. "We know that arts and culture is an indicator of public and community health," said Best, who represents about 200 Greater Hart- ford arts and cultural organizations. "It makes a difference; it's how we build communities. It's how you create vitality where people have a reason to come into your town, your city, your community. Arts and culture bring people together." Early support The industries' pleas have found some receptive ears. A bill requesting the $58.5 million has been raised in the legislature's Commerce Committee with more than a dozen co-sponsors. However, Gov. Ned Lamont's new two-year, $50.5 billion budget proposal sets aside only a fraction of that spending request: $13.8 million annually in fiscal years 2024 and 2025. That's raised the ire of some legis- lators and arts executives. State. Rep John-Michael Parker (D-Madison), who co-chairs the legislature's Arts, Culture and Tourism Caucus, said he was "very disappointed to see the lack of investment in tourism, arts and culture," in Lamont's budget. "It's basically flat-funded from before the pandemic," he said. "The hundreds and hundreds of constit- uents, stakeholders and advocates across the sectors have spoken loudly the past year about the impor- tance of increased funding, and to go back to pre-pandemic levels drops Connecticut far behind our neigh- boring states." Parker noted that lawmakers did increase tourism and arts funding in fiscal years 2022 and 2023 to $52.1 million, or about $26 million annually — significantly more than what was previously allocated. However, Lamont spokesman David Bednarz said a significant portion of that increased funding came from one-time federal emer- gency COVID-relief aid that has since dried up. In terms of actual state dollars, the governor's budget proposes to FUNDING MECHANISMS Here's how the arts, culture and tourism industries would fund $58.5M in annual state support: • Increase from 10% to 25% the amount of hotel and lodging tax revenues allocated to the Tourism Fund ($32 million). • Return the 3% allocation of the car rental tax from the General Fund to the Tourism Fund ($3 million). • Allocate tax revenue gener- ated from online gambling ($20 million). HBJ PHOTO | STEVE LASCHEVER Rev. Shelley Best John-Michael Parker David Fay, president and CEO of The Bushnell in Hartford, said the state should do more to support his theater and the broader arts, culture and tourism industries.

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