The state Senate has voted to save the Kansas Arts Commission. The 24 to 13 vote overturns an executive order, signed by Governor Sam Brownback, which would have replaced the Arts Commission with a private foundation. Senator Roger Reitz ("rights"), a Manhattan Republican, lead the effort in the Senate to preserve the state-supported Commission.
Supporters of the Arts Commission say eliminating the state agency would cost Kansas more than one million dollars in federal matching funds. The governor’s office said eliminating the Arts Commission would have saved the state around 600 thousand dollars.