Remove waste before awarding $8M to art

House Bill 3191 gives $8 million to art.
By Taxpayers Association of Oregon
OregonWatchdog.com

House Bill 3191 up for a hearing this week gives an $8 million grant to various art projects in Oregon.

Wait a minute!  Doesn’t Oregon have one of the nation’s most generous and costly tax credit program for art?   Yes, Oregon gives a whopping $500 cultural tax credit for people who donate to art.  Apparently that tax credit, which costs Oregon tens of millions of lost dollars, is not enough.   Now the State aims to dump our tax dollars to private art companies and projects.   At least the cultural tax credit was a way to force art companies to attract public support — whereas HB 3191 just gives the tax cash away.

Last year, the Legislature gave tax dollars to the Portland Art Museum and instead of spending it on actual art, they spent it on wasteful movie nights to show films like Dirty Dancing and Psycho Beach Party.    Tax dollars should not subsidize your movie night.

Last year, the Legislature bailed out the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.  One of the reasons the Oregon Shakespeare Festival has lost money is because of their gross mismanagement and their injecting politics into their plays which drove customers away.  Now the Festival is back for more funding with HB 3191.

House Bill 3191 summary reads, “Appropriates $8,875,000 to 14 specified arts and culture organizations. Appropriates $400,000 to the Oregon Business Development Department (OBDD) for the Cultural Resources Economic Fund (CREF). Appropriates $50,000 to OBDD to conduct a competitive grant program awarding funding to a nonprofit organization to provide technical assistance to other organizations in applying for and receiving public funding. Updates references.”

HB 3191 is sponsored by Representatives NOSSE, ANDERSEN; Representatives GRAYBER, LEVY E, MARSH, NATHANSON,SMITH G, Senators ANDERSON, FREDERICK, MANNING JR, MEEK, PATTERSON, REYNOLDS (Presession filed.)

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