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A00526 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A526
 
SPONSOR: Carroll
  TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the arts and cultural affairs law, in relation to the establishment of regional arts, cultural affairs, and parks accessibil- ity and sustainability grants   PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: To establish 10 regional councils that will administer competitive accessibility and sustainability grants for regional arts, cultural institutions and parks.   SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS: Section 1 amends the arts and cultural affairs law by adding a new arti- cle 6. 6.01 - Defines Regions, Regional Councils, Accessibility and Sustaina- bility Programs. 6.03 - Establishes the 10 Regions in New York State. 6.05 - The Governor establishes a regional council in each region made up of local experts and stakeholders from arts, cultural and parks organizations within region. The Governor shall appoint 5 members and the Assembly and Senate shall appoint one member in each region. One member of each regional council shall be an expert in accessibility, and one member an expert in sustainability. 6.05 (2) The Regional Councils with approval of Governor issue compet- itive accessibility and sustainability grants to arts, cultural and parks organizations within their region for capital projects 6.05 (2) (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. 6.05 (2) (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. 6.05 (3) Regional Councils will determine which organizations receive A competitive accessibility or sustainability grant based on Governor's criteria 6.05 (4) Organizations may only receive an accessibility and sustaina- bility grant under this article once every three years. 6.05 (5) No regional council shall issue accessibility and sustainabili- ty grants totaling more than fifty percent of such council's grant money issued in a calendar year to parks organizations. Section 2 sets the effective date.   JUSTIFICATION: The arts are an integral driver of the state's economy and serve as critical assets to communities. Data released in 2018 by the NEA and BEA shows that the arts and cultural sector generate over $114 billion to the New York State Economy and employ over 450,000 people across the state. Additionally, the total number of onsite visits to NYSCA grantee organizations in 2018 stood at over 171 million, with cultural tourists estimated at over 53 million, 30 million of which are museum guests. Many of these cultural institutions rely on old infrastructure which predate accessibility requirements and are energy inefficient. They are badly in need of improvements and retrofitting to improve accessibility and efficiency. The capital costs associated with these improvements are often beyond the means of these institutions. Given the large number of people employed and served by our cultural spaces, arts institutions, and parks, the return on investment in regards to sustainability will have significant impact to our state's overall energy footprint The much needed accessibility improvements will greatly benefit seniors and differently abled people making use of museums, 'and art and recreation- al spaces, allowing greater access to our cultural treasures for both citizens and tourists, enhancing appreciation for the arts, improving educational participation, and providing associated economic benefits.   PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: A.515 of 2021-2022   FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: TBD   EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect immediately.
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