Bethann Steiner, Senior Director of Public Affairs
Beacon Hill has turned its attention to building the next state budget, with today’s release of House Ways & Means FY25 budget recommendations.
Mass Cultural Council is extremely pleased and grateful to the House Committee on Ways and Means for including a record high $25,895,000 appropriation for the Agency’s operations next year.
This figure represents a 3.58 percent increase to Mass Cultural Council’s current FY24 $25M operating budget, and is $348,803 higher than what the Governor proposed for the Agency in her FY25 H2 budget recommendation!
We are thrilled with this appropriation, as state tax revenues have not been meeting expectations and policymakers have consistently warned that budgeting decisions would be challenging this year.
In March, Mass Cultural Council testified before the Joint Committee on Ways & Means in support of the Governor’s $25.5 million funding proposal. Today Mass Cultural Council wishes to extend a heartfelt THANK YOU to the Massachusetts House of Representatives for their continued support, with special thanks to Speaker Ron Mariano; Ways & Means Chair Aaron Michlewitz; Tourism, Arts & Cultural Development Chair Mindy Domb; and all the Representatives who indicated that the creative and cultural sector should be a budget priority in their discussions with House Leadership.
This level of funding will allow Mass Cultural Council to continue its equitable investments and support of creative individuals, youth arts and education programs, cultural organizations, and communities statewide next year. And we know these investments provide big economic gains.
State public support of arts and culture is critical, as our sector is an economic engine for the Commonwealth. Last week, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis released new 2022 federal data which shows that year arts and culture in Massachusetts accounted for $28.6 billion in economic impact, which represents 133,773 jobs, and 4.1% of the state’s economy. This tracks, as in March Massachusetts was ranked #3 in the nation for arts vibrancy by SMU DataArts, the National Center for Arts Research.
Mass Cultural Council is proud to partner with the House of Representatives as we continue to bolster the Commonwealth’s creative and cultural sector statewide.
Next Steps on the FY25 Budget Process
The House Members will now file budget amendments, which will be considered by the full Chamber during the FY25 House Budget debate which begins on April 24.
Once the House completes its work, the budget will advance to the Massachusetts Senate. The Senate Committee on Ways & Means is expected to release its funding recommendations early in the month, and the Senate budget debate should follow the week of May 20.
Any differences between the Final House and Senate budgets must be reconciled by a Conference Committee. Once both Chambers adopt the Conference Budget it goes to the Governor for final approval. The Governor has 10 days to review and act on any legislation on her desk.
Fiscal Year 2025 begins on July 1, 2024.