Governor Sam Brownback today (MON) signed an executive order to abolish the Kansas Arts Commission and replace it with the Kansas Arts Foundation. The Arts Commission is a state agency, while the Arts Foundation would be a non-profit organization responsible for raising most of its funding through private donations. Brownback says the move would save the state around 600 thousand dollars next fiscal year. He believes the arts in Kansas will continue to grow under the new organization.
Opponents of the move say the state will lose more than one million dollars in federal matching funds if the Arts Commission is abolished. They say the new Arts Foundation won’t be eligible for much of the federal funding the Arts Commission currently receives. The executive order will take effect July 1st, unless it's rejected by the Legislature.