In historic first, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis vetoes most arts funding in Florida

Florida arts and culture organizations, still struggling to recover after the COVID pandemic, took another unexpected financial hit when Gov. Ron DeSantis eliminated most state funding for cultural programs.

DeSantis vetoed nearly $1 billion from the $116.5 billion state budget before signing it in Tampa on Wednesday, including nearly $90 million the legislature earmarked for 669 different arts and culture projects and for special line item programs.

It is the first time that no money will be allocated for arts and culture programs by the state.

“It is devastating. Unfortunate is too light a word,” said Richard Russell, general director of the Sarasota Opera, which stands to lose about $70,000 that was expected from the state grant program. “It is a lack of recognition of the economic impact that we have in our community and how much revenue we generate for the state.”

Economic studies have shown that every $1 spent on arts and culture programs generates about $9 more in related spending.

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Jennifer Jones, executive director of the Florida Cultural Alliance, a non-profit that advocates for arts and culture programs in the state, said DeSantis may have indicated his intention to cut the arts money. His initial budget proposal to the state legislature did not include any funds for those programs.

“In the past, there was at least a placeholder for arts funding of maybe $5 million. But there was nothing in the most recent one. Maybe that was a telltale sign,” she said.

Already diminished Florida arts funding eliminated by DeSantis

For decades, the state has awarded money to non-profit cultural organizations through a vetting process in four grant categories This year, the legislature approved just $32 million in only two of those categories – $26 million in cultural and museum grants that support programming, and $6 million in the Cultural Facilities Grants, which provide money for building projects. Those totals were tens of millions less than the organizations qualified for from the vetting process

In the cultural and museum grants category, organizations can qualify for up to $150,000 each year, but this year the legislature allocated only 47 percent of that total. And even that was eliminated with the governor’s veto.

“The cuts are a devastating blow to the arts and cultural community,” Brian Hersh, CEO of the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota, said in a statement. The cuts represent a $3 million loss in Sarasota County, where the arts are one of the top employers. “It is disappointing to see the state budget eliminate support for the arts across Florida,” he said.

The legislature added millions in special member projects across the state, and the governor cut many of them, while some appeared to survive his veto. Among the surviving projects are $5 million for a new Holocaust Museum for Hope and Humanity in Orlando; $3.7 million for the Jacksonville Museum of Science and History Genesis Project; $2.5 million for the Pinellas Science Center; $1.5 million for the Golisano Children’s Museum of Naples Early Learning Center; $750,000 for preserving Holocaust survivor testimonies at the Florida Holocaust Museum; and $250,000 for the Florida Civil Rights Museum in St. Augustine.

But the Perlman Music Program/Suncoast, for example, won’t get the $200,000 it was expecting to support its annual winter residency in Sarasota.

Sarasota arts groups still recovering from COVID

Russell said the cuts are a big blow as his organization and hundreds of others are still trying to rebuild attendance and donations lost during the pandemic.

“We’re so far behind the eightball, to have this funding zeroed out is shocking,” Russell said. “It’s frustrating. It’s hard to put into words that our work is not being recognized by the governor.”

Julie Leach, executive director of the Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe in Sarasota, said, “It is hard to run a non-profit organization when your income streams are so uncertain. It would be nice if the legislature and the governor appreciate that arts and culture are an important economic driver all over the state, draws tourism and people moving to the state."

Several leaders said they would wait for DeSantis to explain the reasoning behind the cuts before commenting.

“I think it's going to take us a few days to get clarity on what the issue is,” said Rebecca Hopkins, managing director of Florida Studio Theatre. “I don’t find that Governor DeSantis is very shy for giving his reasons for doing things and he’s getting questions about this.”

Hopkins said she was “extremely disappointed and very concerned” by the veto, not just for her theater, but “for arts throughout the state. We have a strong arts community and the state has always been part of that foundation.”

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