Today, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. signed a state budget that includes a one-time $5 million increase in general fund support for the California Arts Council. This is the first time in over ten years the arts have seen an increase of general fund monies, after support for the Arts Council was cut by 94% in 2003.

by Amy Sauceda

The California Arts Council and Californians for the Arts are celebrating positive steps forward for an appropriation bill of $7 million.  Last Thursday, the California State Legislative Budget Conference Committee voted 8-0 to support the increase in funding for the state's arts agency.

Via our partners Californians for the Arts and Americans for the Arts:

The California Arts Council announced last week it received $2 million in one-time funds from the 2013 State Assembly operating budget.  Assembly Speaker John Pérez made the allocation from his own discretionary fund. Pérez represents the 53rd Assembly District, covering much of Los Angeles (Boyle Heights, Downtown, Koreatown, Westlake)

AB 580, the California State Assembly bill to fund the California Arts Council with $75 million for the upcoming fiscal year, failed to pass out of the Assembly Appropriations Committee during the current legislative session.