In the News

New Cultural Facilities Funding Approved!
House & Senate Agree to Add $7 Million

October 11, 2007

Dear Friends,

This evening, the Senate voted to approve the additional $7 million for the Massachusetts Cultural Facilities Fund.

This significant increase to the Massachusetts Cultural Facilities Fund, bringing this year’s total appropriation to $12 million, resulted from leadership in both the Senate and the House working together to establish a consensus agreement on facilities funding in the supplemental budget.

Earlier today, the House voted to approve the supplemental budget.

MAASH thanks Senate President Therese Murray (D-Plymouth); Chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, Senator Steven Panagiotakos (D-Lowell); Senator Jack Hart (D-S. Boston) Chairman of the Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies; Senator Stan Rosenberg (D-Amherst) President Pro Tem; and Senator Brian Joyce (D-Milton), Chairman of Committee on Tourism, Arts and Cultural Development for their leadership.

MAASH thanks Speaker Sal DiMasi, the Chair and Vice Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, Representatives Robert DeLeo (D-Winthrop) and Marie St. Fleur (D-Dorchester) and Chairmen Dan Bosley (D-North Adams) of the Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technology and Eric Turkington (D-Falmouth) of the Committee on Tourism, Arts and Cultural Development for their leadership.

Thanks to the leaders in the Senate and the House, this historic program will strengthen the arts, sciences and humanities all across the Commonwealth. MAASH also thanks its partners in the Campaign for Cultural Facilities: the Boston Foundation and the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

MassDevelopment and the Massachusetts Cultural Council awarded the first grants of this program just last week at a great event hosted at the Museum of African American History. Representatives of the cultural community were joined by key members of the legislature including, Speaker DiMasi, Reps Bosley and Turkington as well as Jeff Sanchez (D-Jamaica Plain) and Kay Khan (D-Newton). Senator Stan Rosenberg (D-Amherst), the Senate President Pro Tem was joined by Senator Jack Hart (D-South Boston) who was one of the authors of the new law.

The supplemental budget bill now goes to the Governor. MAASH will keep you informed.

MAASH will keep you informed on the progress of this supplemental budget.

Dan Hunter

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