UPDATE: But as ArtsCriticATL notes…”It’s not over yet, however. The measure must be approved by a vote of the full Senate, probably in the next day or two, and, if there is a tie, the Conference Committee. All will be resolved, for good or ill, by the end of the session, April 29.”

From the AJC…

The Senate Appropriations Committee approved a $17.8 billion budget that includes money the House had stripped from the arts council. The council’s budget will receive a steep cut from the $2.52 million it received in fiscal 2010, but the agency will not be eliminated, as the House had intended.

Elimination of the council could have meant the loss of $878,300 in federal National Endowment for the Arts grants for Georgia.

From the Georgia Council for the Arts via ArtsCriticATL.com…

“We have no documentation yet, but were told that the House Appropriations Committee voted yesterday to cut our budget for FY 2011 to less than $250,000. Most importantly, these funds are to be transferred to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA). We don’t know if this means that Georgia Council for the Arts 1) will no longer exist, 2) we will become part of DCA, or 3) the funds will be used to close out the FY 2010 Final Reports and end GCA. Whichever, Georgia will be the only state and territory in the nation that will have no state arts agency.

It is urgent that GCA hear from you today, no later than 5 PM. There are only six days remaining in this legislative session.

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