What's happening
This bill creates regional councils across New York State to distribute competitive grants to arts, cultural, and parks organizations.
Why it matters
Targets local needs and expertise. By requiring each regional council to include local arts, cultural, and parks stakeholders, the bill ensures that funding decisions are informed by people who understand the unique needs and priorities of their communities.
Promotes balance between large and small organizations. The bill mandates that, in New York City, half of grant funds go to organizations above and below a $10 million operating budget, and in other regions, above and below $5 million—helping prevent large institutions from monopolizing resources and ensuring smaller groups have equal access.
Limits repeat funding and encourages broad impact. Organizations cannot receive a grant more than once in three years, which aims to spread funding more widely and encourage equitable distribution across the sector.
Ensures diversity in funding between arts/culture and parks. By capping grants to parks organizations at 50% of total annual distributions per region, the bill seeks to balance funding between parks and the broader cultural/arts sector, rather than allowing one area to dominate.
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Who cares
Arts and cultural affairs organizations
The bill would create competitive capital grants, with equal funding for organizations above and below operating-budget thresholds of $10 million in New York City and $5 million elsewhere.
Parks organizations
They would be eligible for capital grants but could receive no more than 50 percent of each regional council’s annual grant awards.
Governor and legislative leaders
The governor would appoint five members of each seven-member regional council, set grant criteria and approve awards, while the Assembly speaker and Senate temporary president would each appoint one member.
Local arts, cultural affairs and parks experts and stakeholders
They would serve on the regional councils that select grant recipients, with organizations barred from receiving another grant within three years.
Headline styles
Fund Regional Arts Grants
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
Assembly Member · Assembly District 44
6 Co-sponsors
3 Multi-sponsors
History
- Referred to tourism, parks, arts and sports development
- Referred to tourism, parks, arts and sports development
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
7064
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
April 4, 2019
Introduced by M. of A. CARROLL -- read once and referred to the Committee on Tourism, Parks, Arts and Sports Development
AN ACT to amend the arts and cultural affairs law, in relation to the establishment of regional arts, cultural affairs, and parks grants
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The arts and cultural affairs law is amended by adding a new article 6 to read as follows:
ARTICLE 6
REGIONAL ARTS, CULTURAL AFFAIRS, AND PARKS GRANTS Section 6.01. Definitions.
6.03. Establishment of arts, cultural affairs, and parks
regions.
6.05. Regional arts, cultural affairs, and parks competitive
grants.
§ 6.01. Definitions. For the purposes of this article, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
1. "Regions" shall mean the arts, cultural affairs, and parks regions established in section 6.03 of this article.
2. "Regional councils" shall mean the councils which issue grants under section 6.05 of this article.
§ 6.03. Establishment of arts, cultural affairs, and parks regions. Ten arts, cultural affairs, and parks regions shall be established within the state, one for each of the following regions:
1. Long Island (which consists of Suffolk and Nassau counties);
2. the city of New York (which consists of Bronx, New York, Queens, Kings, and Richmond counties);
3. the Mid-Hudson region (which consists of Sullivan, Ulster, Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Westchester, and Rockland counties);
4. the Southern tier (which consists of Steuben, Schuyler, Tompkins, Chemung, Tioga, Chenango, Broome, and Delaware counties);
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10235-04-9
A. 7064 2
5. the Capital region (which consists of Warren, Washington, Saratoga, Schenectady, Rensselaer, Albany, Columbia, and Greene counties);
6. the Mohawk valley (which consists of Oneida, Herkimer, Fulton, Montgomery, Otsego, and Schoharie counties);
7. the North country (which consists of Clinton, Franklin, St. Lawrence, Jefferson, Lewis, Hamilton, and Essex counties);
8. the Central region (which consists of Oswego, Cayuga, Onondaga, Madison, and Cortland counties);
9. the Finger Lakes region (which consists of Orleans, Monroe, Wayne, Genesee, Wyoming, Livingston, Ontario, Seneca, and Yates counties); and
10. the Western region (which consists of Niagara, Erie, Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, and Allegany counties).
§ 6.05. Regional arts, cultural affairs, and parks competitive grants. 1. The governor shall, in each region, establish a council who shall issue competitive grants within the region. The members of each regional council shall be local experts and stakeholders from arts and cultural affairs organizations and parks organizations within the region. Each regional council shall have seven total members appointed to such council. Five members of each regional council shall be appointed by the governor and shall serve at the pleasure of the governor, one member of each regional council shall be appointed by the speaker of the assembly and serve at the pleasure of the assembly, and one member of each regional council shall be appointed by the temporary president of the senate and serve at the pleasure of the senate. All members of the regional councils shall be subject to the provisions of section seventy-three-a of the public officers law.
2. The regional councils shall, with approval from the governor, issue competitive grants to arts and cultural affairs organizations and parks organizations within their region for capital projects such that:
(a) in the city of New York region, an equal amount of grant money is issued to organizations with operating budgets of ten million dollars or more as is issued to organizations with operating budgets of less than ten million dollars; and
(b) in all other regions, an equal amount of grant money is issued to organizations with operating budgets of five million dollars or more as is issued to organizations with operating budgets of less than five million dollars.
3. The regional councils shall determine which organization shall receive a competitive grant based on criteria established by the governor for such purpose.
4. No regional council shall issue a grant to an organization which has received a grant under this article within the prior three years.
5. No regional council shall issue grants totaling more than fifty percent of such council's grant money issued in a calendar year to parks organizations.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.