Budget conference: Lawmakers remain far apart on arts, culture spending as advocates urge support

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As budget negotiations continue in Tallahassee, a sizable divide persists between the Senate and House on arts, culture and museum spending.

The Senate wants to apportion more than $23.3 million to culture and museum grants, which includes a full $18.9 million set-aside for all 184 institutions that scored 95 or above during panel meetings of the Department of State’s application and funding process. The Senate would also give another $5 million in proviso funding for 466 others scoring 85 to 94.9.

The House, conversely, is offering $5.85 million, and only for institutions that received perfect scores.

Both are notably below the $27 million Gov. Ron DeSantis proposed in February through his “Focus on Fiscal Responsibility” budget proposal for the 2025-26 fiscal year.

The Senate is also slotting $10.9 million for grants and aid to 28 perfect-scoring local government and non-state cultural facilities. That’s roughly half as much as it would cost to fully fund all 55 ranked and recommended applications scoring 95 and above.

But it’s still more than the House is offering: $7.3 million for 19 applications at 100.

Local facilities include the Bay of Pigs Brigade 2506 Museum and Library in Miami-Dade County, the Jacksonville Museum of Science and History, the Orlando Museum of Art and the Pinellas Science Center.

Funds also have been requested for the first phase of development at the Florida Museum of Black History in St. Johns County, hurricane recovery projects at the Venice Theatre and restoration of the San Carlos Institute in Key West.

For Culture Builds Florida, a promotional campaign within Florida’s Division of Cultural Affairs, the Senate is proposing a $325,000 expenditure for 13 projects that ranked perfectly — excluding 107 other projects that scored 95 or more.

Again, the House is offering less: $125,000 for five applicants with scores of 100.

Neither chamber has budged from the arts spending offers they submitted earlier this week.

There’s still time for the chambers to reach an agreement on spending by June 16, the latest target date for Session to end. But the clock is ticking, and arts and culture advocates are urging lawmakers to err on the side of support.

In a Friday message to Sen. Ed Hooper and Rep. Lawrence McClure, the Legislature’s budget Chairs, the nonprofit Florida Cultural Alliance implored lawmakers to fund high-ranking arts and culture projects “at the highest levels.”