As a state arts agency faces possible cuts to its federal funding, a powerful House lawmaker is again threatening arts funding.
Hawai‘i was the first state in the U.S. to adopt a percent for art law in 1967. The current law allows 1% of the construction and renovation funds for state buildings to go into the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts’ special fund, which acquires art from local artists, supports state art programs, and more.
House Finance Chair Kyle Yamashita has been introducing measures that would either cut, limit or redirect the arts agency’s special fund since 2007, according to the Legislature’s archives.
This year, advocates for the arts say Yamashita is much closer than ever to succeeding.
Seema Sueko-Low, the SFCA’s administrative services assistant, described a tense meeting in January between House leaders and the SFCA.
“The tone in that meeting was very threatening and bullying,” she told HPR. “It has remained so, in some ways escalated.”
House leaders discussed a measure that would make part of the foundation’s funding more dependent on the Legislature. There were talks that if the bill dies, they could cut the SFCA’s funding from the state budget, according to Sueko-Low.
Yamashita did not respond to HPR's request for an interview. Instead, a spokesperson said he would be unavailable as lawmakers head into conference, which are meetings where lawmakers hash out their differences with bills.
With the unpredictability at the federal level, proponents of the arts fear that without autonomous funding, the arts could be first on the chopping block.
SFCA Executive Director Karen Ewald said it happened during the 1990s and the late 2000s recessions.
“We lost a massive amount of our general funds because there were needs elsewhere,” she said.
The SFCA has a $19 million budget. More than $10.4 million comes from general funds, although some of that money goes to Bishop Museum and ‘Iolani Palace, leaving the foundation with over $800,000. About 40% of the foundation comes from special funds, while federal funds comprise 4.7% of the budget.
According to Ewald, the Works of Art Special Fund currently has a balance of $21 million and can only spend up to $5.5 million per year.
Created in 1989, the special fund is a pot of money that comes from 1% of the costs for new state buildings and renovations.
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The SFCA can only use the funds to obtain art from Hawai‘i artists and pay for the salaries of staff members responsible for repairing and restoring the works of art collection. It’s also used to have artwork in the Arts in Public Places Program.
House Bill 1378 was originally meant to expand the state foundation, adding a performing arts program. But the House Finance Committee amended it.
Now it limits the use of the art agency’s special fund to only acquiring art, rather than for operations like staff and upkeep of the art — similar to the language in Yamashita’s House Bill 1299, which died earlier in the session because it never got a hearing.
The measure also moves special-funded positions of the SFCA’s staff to the general fund.
Ewald said that would put more strain on the state’s general fund and impact the SFCA’s staff in case there’s another economic recession.
“That’s a majority of our staff,” she said.
The state attorney general's office cited a federal IRS rule that the tax-exempt bonds that pay for the construction of state buildings can’t be used for operational expenses. However, the SFCA, under current state law, allows them to spend money on operational expenses like staff salaries.
Ewald said she’s discussing tracking the source of bond proceeds with the state Department of Budget and Finance. She said that she’s open to an audit of the SFCA.
At least 27 states adopted a percent for art law following Hawai‘i, and at least 32 have alternative funding sources aside from their legislatures, according to Ryan Stubbs, chief program and strategy officer of the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies.
He also said several state arts agencies receive funding through sales tax and lodging fees, and even created cultural trusts.
“These are things that help support the stability of arts funding in a particular state, but the majority of funds do come from state legislatures,” he said, noting that it varies by state.
According to NASAA’s database, the arts contribute over $1 trillion to the U.S. economy. The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reported in 2023 that arts and cultural production accounted for 2.95%, or more than $3.2 billion, of Hawai‘i’s economy.
Ewald said she’s trying to protect the longevity of funding for the state foundation. She said the SFCA is seeking alternative funding sources.
“No matter what the funding source is, I'm looking decades ahead, beyond my time, to ensure that arts and culture funding remains robust and intact because of the situation currently and the threat of economic downturn," she said. "That is my main concern."
Last week, over a dozen artists protested during the annual Art at the Capitol. They held signs that read “Art matters” and “Art is not a line matter, it’s a lifeline."
The measure has gained widespread opposition from artists, with more than 400 pages of testimony at the Senate Ways and Means Committee in early April.
Laurel Nakanishi works with a program called HŌʻĀ, which is funded by the foundation's Works of Art Special Fund.
“This bill would destroy funding for the HŌʻĀ program and other essential arts education programming in the state,” Nakanishi wrote. “In many schools, arts education programs funded by the Works of Art Special Fund are the only opportunities that students have to experience the arts.
“Cutting this dedicated arts funding will have long-lasting negative impacts on our keiki and our community,” Nakanishi continued.
Native Hawaiian artist Solomon Enos was a legislative aide in the early 2000s. He said this isn’t the first time this bill has come up, adding that it has garnered opposition from artists.
“Why is it that a bill that gets virtually no support and is in constant opposition year after year, and that every year there’s a new reason why it’s being motivated is extremely suspicious,” he said. “It just feels spiteful.”
The measure also received rare pushback from Gov. Josh Green in written testimony, and he even sent a representative to a recent hearing on the bill.
In a written statement to HPR, the governor’s office said it supports funding the foundation, but that it’s premature to say whether or not the governor will sign the bill into law.
The bill has until the end of next week to make it out of conference committee for a final hearing.
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