CAM Legislative Alert 3/21/2008

FIND YOUR MUSE... Be a member of the California Association of Museums! CAM is the only professional association specifically addressing the needs and interests of California's museums and relies on membership dues to support its programs and services. Membership benefits and fees are available at http://www.calmuseums.org/membership.F

MAY 7, 2008 IS CALIFORNIA MUSEUM ADVOCACY DAY IN SACRAMENTO - JOIN US!

In February of this year, Assemblyman Mike Villines introduced ACR 100 (http://www.calmuseums.org/news/ACR_100.pdf) to proclaim May 2008 as California Museum Month and highlight the vital role museums play in educating our state’s students and citizens.

The purpose of California Museum Month is to focus the attention of legislators, the media, and the public on the important role that museums play in the state of California--especially in the realm of education. Our museums are located in every county and region throughout California, represent a multitude of disciplines, collect and interpret our natural and cultural world, offer learning experiences for all ages, and attract tens-of-millions of visitors annually. We have a lot to celebrate and communicate to the policymakers in Sacramento.

Join us in Sacramento on Wednesday, May 7th for CAM's Museum Advocacy Day to demonstrate how the state's museums are strengthing communities, partnering with schools, and contributing to a higher quality of life in this state. See the Museum Advocacy Day webpage (https://www.123signup.com/event?id=tzkmr) to review the agenda and register.

For additional information about California Museum Month, visit CAM's website at http://www.calmuseums.org/museum_month/index.html.

NATIONWIDE ASSOCIATIONS AND CAM REQUEST IMMEDIATE ACTION TO HELP INCREASE IMLS' BUDGETS

Are you located in Los Angeles, the East Bay Area, Santa Clara County, or San Bernardino County? If so, you can play an important role in increasing the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) budget for museums--a role that will only require about five minutes of your time!

Below is a list of the members of the California delegation on the U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education, the subcommittee that oversees funding for IMLS. A team of representatives from the Federal Formula Grant Coalition, American Association of Museums, Association of Art Museum Directors, Association of Science-Technology Centers, and the American Zoo and Aquarium Association have been on the Hill meeting with members of the Appropriations Subcommittees. This group has been advocating for $6 million more than what is in the President's budget, for a total of $45 million--the level IMLS would be at if funding increases over the past four years stayed the same as the increases experienced from 2003-2005. But this influential group needs assistance from the field.

Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA)
Barbara Lee (CA)
Michael Honda (CA)
Jerry Lewis (CA)

If any of the above individuals represent your congressional district, we strongly encourage you to take minutes to copy text from a template/draft letter, paste it onto your letterhead, fill in any blanks about your organization, and FAX it to three numbers. It is that easy! Yet, those simple steps can make a significant difference in influencing your elected official's support for IMLS. Please see the sample letter at http://www.calmuseums.org/news/IMLS_template_letter_March_2008.doc or http://www.calmuseums.org/news/IMLS_template_letter_March_2008.pdf and take action today! If you have any questions, please contact Celeste DeWald, CAM Executive Director, at cam@calmuseums.org or (831) 471-9970.

CAM BOARD MEMBERS TESTIFY AT IMLS PUBLIC HEARING

On Friday, March 14, 2008, the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) hosted a hearing on museum funding at the Oakland Museum of California. They were seeking testimony on how local, state, and federal funds are accessed and used by all types of museums to care for cultural heritage, provide life long learning, and enhance civic engagement. Dr. Anne-Imelda Radice, Director of the IMLS, and members of the National Museum and Library Services Board, were present to listen to testimony.

A variety of perspectives were expressed at the hearing and a broard spectrum of ideas presented for the consideration of Katherine M. B. Berger and Dr. Kevin Starr, members of the National Museum and Library Services Board, and Dr. Radice. Two members of the CAM Board of Directors and the Legislative Committee were presenters, in addition to other museum representatives from the Bay Area. Representing the perspective of the Federal Formula Grant Coalition, Phil Kohlmetz, Executive Director of the Western Railway Museum in Suisun City, testified about the coalition's goals and his personal experience as a museum director in rural California. William Moreno, Executive Director of the Claremont Museum of Art in Claremont, presented data and findings from CAM's 2006 California Museums Survey and the Museum Advocacy Summits in Fall 2007, which support CAM's position to advocate for a federal formula grant program for museums. To read their testimonies or learn more about federal formula grants, click on http://www.calmuseums.org/news/FFG.html.

The hearings were the last component of the agency’s information-gathering efforts designed to determine the sources and uses of public funds for museums. Also part of the effort is a rigorous examination by the Urban Institute, which, through a cooperative agreement with IMLS, has gathered information about public funding for museums through a national survey as well as through individual interviews with museum professionals and museum funders in selected states. All the information gathered, including the perspectives from the public, will be part of a final IMLS report which will be issued in the summer of 2008. For more information on the study, please go to: http://www.imls.gov/news/2008/012208_bkg.shtm.

TAKE ACTION NOW TO SUPPORT THE ARTS IN CALIFORNIA

The California Arts Council (# 8260) FY 2008-09 budget is on the agenda for the Senate Budget & Fiscal Review Subcommittee # 4 hearing on Monday, March 24 (10 a.m. - Room 3191at the State Capitol) and the Assembly Budget Subcommittee # 4 hearing on Tuesday, March 25 (1:30 p.m. - Room 447 at the State Capitol).

Visit the California Arts Action Center at http://capwiz.com/artsusa/ca/state/main/?state=CA to email your elected officials and ask them to urge their colleagues on both committees to support the state's investment in the arts and the California Arts Council's FY 2008-09 budget in full. It takes only two minutes to send the email and one minute to tell a friend that you did.

Governor Schwarzenegger released his proposed 2008-09 budget for California in January. As a state agency, the California Arts Council fulfilled its required reduction through reductions in its administrative budget as follows: "The Budget includes General Fund reductions of $24,000 and 0.3 position in 2007-08 and $124,000 and 1.0 position in 2008-09. To achieve this reduction, the Department will eliminate the Special Assistant to the Executive Director and reduce travel and training expenditures." For more detailed information, see the Governor's Proposed Budget 2008-2009 for the California Arts Council ebudget at http://www.ebudget.ca.gov/StateAgencyBudgets/8000/8260/department.html.

(Excerpted from the California Arts Advocates' Action Alert, March 19, 2008.)

CAM IS MONITORING LEGISLATION ON BEHALF OF CALIFORNIA MUSEUMS

As the advocate in Sacramento for all California museums, CAM monitors various bills that could potentially impact the state's museums. With approximately 2,800 bills introduced this year, this is a big responsibility. In an effort to inform the California museum community about pending legislation, below is a sampling of key bills that CAM is watching, commenting on, or supporting.

AB 31(De Leon) Statewide Park Development and Community Revitalization Act of 2007. This bill addresses the Statewide Park Development and Community Revitalization Act of 2007 and revises the criteria for awarding grants. A local government entities and specified nonprofit organizations would be authorized to apply for local assistance program grants.

AB 624(Coto) Foundations: diversity. This bill would require specified foundations to collect particular data including: the racial and gender composition of the board of directors and staff of the foundation; grants awarded to organizations serving underrepresented communities; the number of grants and grant dollars awarded to organizations where 50% or more of the board members or staff are ethnic minorities; and more.

AB 830(Ma) Vehicles: charter-party carrier. An operator of a charter-party carrier would be required to conduct a background check on drivers of these vehicles and to make the background check available to the Department of the California Highway Patrol upon request.

AB 1519(Ma) Human remains: commercial display. Would with certain exceptions, prohibit any person from displaying human remains to the public for commercial purposes, as defined, without first obtaining a permit from the county.

AB 2104(Smyth) Pornography: unauthorized photographs of minors. Would prohibit a person from preparing, posting, or publishing a photograph or image of a minor under 18 years of age, without the minor's knowledge or consent, on an Internet Web site containing obscene matter.

AB 2435(Adams) Ownership rights: original works. This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to existing law, which provides that the author of any original work of authorship that is not fixed in any tangible medium of expression has an exclusive ownership in the representation or expression of that work as against all persons except one who originally and independently creates the same or similar work.

AB 2610(Davis) Salvageable personal property: unattended collection boxes. Would authorize a county to prohibit an entity from placing, using, or employing a collection box for solicitation purposes without a permit and would authorize the local jurisdiction to charge an annual fee for the permit. The bill would require the revenue from these fees to be used for the administration of the local jurisdiction's permit program.

AB 2687(Krekorian) Parks and nature education facilities. Would require the department to establish a program to offer grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible organizations and public institutions, including natural history museums, aquariums, research facilities, or botanical gardens.

AB 2732(Levine) Public-private partnerships. Would state it is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to conduct a study analyzing the areas of state government that could benefit the most from public-private partnerships.

AB 2785(Ruskin) Wildlife conservation. Would revise the program to require the department to investigate, study, and identify those areas in the state that are most essential as wildlife corridors and habitat linkages and prioritize vegetative data development in those areas.

AB 2888(La Malfa) Businesses: services for minors. Would require nonprofit and for-profit businesses to require any person hired as an employee, independent contractor, or volunteer to work directly and in an unaccompanied setting with minor children to go through a criminal background check, including being fingerprinted.

AB 2989(Fuentes) Parks and recreation: Outdoor Environmental Education and Recreation Program. Would establish the Outdoor Environmental Education and Recreation Program for the purpose of increasing the ability of underserved and at-risk populations to participate in outdoor recreation and educational experiences by awarding grants to education programs that are available to the public and are operated by public entities or nonprofit organizations.

ACR 100(Villines) California Museum Month. Would proclaim May 2008, as California Museum Month.

SB 1516(Simitian) California Reading and Literacy Improvement and Public Library Construction and Renovation Bond Act of 2010. Would enact the California Reading and Literacy Improvement and Public Library Construction and Renovation Bond Act of 2010, for submission to the voters at the 2010 statewide primary election.

To read any of these bills in their entirety or track their progress, visit http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/bilinfo.html and search by bill number or author. Please contact Celeste DeWald, CAM Executive Director, at 831-471-9970 or cam@calmuseums.org if you have any questions about these bills or would like to express any concerns or perspectives. CAM exists to serve the California museum field and we appreciate your feedback.

SUPPORT CAM'S ADVOCACY AND PUBLIC AWARENESS EFFORTS - MAKE A DONATION TODAY!

For years, CAM has been projecting a positive image of California museums to our elected officials and the media - and will continue to do so in the coming year. In 2007, CAM’s Legislative and Communications Committees actively promoted the state’s museums and presented them as thriving and essential educational institutions that are valued by California’s citizens and visitors. We are proud of what we accomplished in 2007 and are looking forward to partnering with California's museums in 2008 to make an even bigger impact.

With the state facing a $16 billion deficit, it is vital that California museums continue to have a voice in Sacramento. A budget crisis on this level could impact funding from city or county sources as well as nonprofit tax policies. CAM is monitoring legislation and taking strategic steps to maximize funding opportunities when they do arise and reverse harmful tax policies.

This level of advocacy is expensive. CAM is unable to fund this work solely through memberships. For that reason, we ask that you support CAM’s advocacy role by making a financial contribution. If every California museum made a donation, we would have a fully funded advocacy program.

To learn more about CAM's advocacy and public awareness accomplishments in 2007 or to learn how you can make a contribution, please click on http://www.calmuseums.org/news/2008_appeal.pdf. We appreciate your support and look forward to working with you in 2008 to continue giving California’s museums a positive voice.

CONTACT CAM

We welcome your comments and inquiries. Please contact the CAM office at:

Celeste DeWald, Executive Director
California Association of Museums
P.O. Box 1455
Santa Cruz, CA 95061-1455
Phone: (831) 471-9970
Email: cam@calmuseums.org
http://www.calmuseums.org/

CAM is supported in part by a grant from the California Arts Council, a state agency, and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. To learn more about the arts in California, the Arts License Plate, and other initiatives for the arts in California, please visit the CAC Website.