Listen. The arts receceive approximately point-zero-zero-nothing-nothing of a percent of your tax dollars—you know, half of what the state gives out in tax breaks for cosmetic surgery—AND with that nothingness, make total magic happen.
And the state legislature, year after year, has failed to make the simple gesture of continuing to give King County’s arts their paltry portion of the paltry tax paid by people who stay in hotels when they come to visit—not even your tax dollars, but tourists’.
Behind closed doors today at 1 pm (watch here!), a committee has the ability to kill the best public art agency we have. On the jump is a list of the Democratic committee members with phone numbers and emails. Shoot them something quick telling them to keep the bill alive so it gets a full floor vote. Notes don’t need to be long, but there need to be lots of them.
UPDATE: Ed Murray, head of this committee, called me last week to tell me he doesn’t think this thing is going to go through. He’s backing another version of the bill—but Frank Chopp would probably tell me that one isn’t going to go through. This story of two competing bills for the arts IS WHAT HAS KILLED THIS ISSUE FROM HAVING BEEN SETTLED YEARS AGO. I call upon you, Ed Murray: Bring your people together. GET THIS DONE. We need a hero.
Here are names and numbers. Calling all of them and leaving quick messages takes 20 minutes, and it’s worth $5m a year for arts and heritage:
Murray, Ed (D) Chair: (360) 786-7628
Kilmer, Derek (D) Vice Chair, Capital Budget Chair: (360) 786-7650
Brown, Lisa (D): (360) 786-7604
Conway, Steve (D): (360) 786-7656
Fraser, Karen (D): (360) 786-7642
Hatfield, Brian (D): (360) 786-7636
Kastama, Jim (D): (360) 786-7648
Keiser, Karen (D): (360) 786-7664
Kohl-Welles, Jeanne (D): (360) 786-7670
Pridemore, Craig (D): (360) 786-7696
Regala, Debbie (D): (360) 786-7652
Rockefeller, Phil (D): (360) 786-7644
Tom, Rodney (D): (360) 786-7694Just say: “Please support SHB 1997. Arts and heritage are important economic drivers in King County.”
If you’d prefer to email…
1. Copy the below list into your To: field…
edward.murray@leg.wa.gov, derek.kilmer@leg.wa.gov, lisa.brown@leg.wa.gov, steve.conway@leg.wa.gov, karen.fraser@leg.wa.gov, brian.hatfield@leg.wa.gov, jim.kastama@leg.wa.gov, karen.keiser@leg.wa.gov, jeanne.kohl-welles@leg.wa.gov, craig.pridemore@leg.wa.gov, debbie.regala@leg.wa.gov, phil.rockefeller@leg.wa.gov, rodney.tom@leg.wa.gov
2. Then copy and paste the following message….
I support passage of SHB 1997, and I want you to vote for it today in the Senate Ways and Means Committee. Arts and heritage are important economic drivers in King County.
3. Enter the subject line: “Yes on SHB 1997 Today”
4. And then press Send. That’s really easy, no? Phone calls are better, but emails are good.
OR CALL AND EMAIL. More communication is better than less.
Thank you, let’s get this done.
Advocate4Culture Coalition
done. Thanks.
And fingers crossed!
That was so damn easy – thanks for posting the suggestion!
Done!
Thank you for posting this with such easy cut and paste addresses and instructions! Well done!
done – I also went to the hearing on wednesday; it seemed as though it was mainly the rental car companies that wanted to kill the bill.
There is drama going on right now.
If they can’t find one of the two absent committee members to sign the bill roster then the bill fails in committee. This does not have a 5pm cutoff, they could be scrambling for a few hours.
The vote was to pass without recommendation, 11 to 9 of the members present that is a majority of those present, but not a majority of the committee. The absent senators could sign that they were … absent. This is being discussed.
They split that in half, the vote and then the signing, maybe. The rule on the vote is unclear.
There were 6 amendments submitted and then withdrawn.
They want to resolve whatever issues they have in Rules committee.
If this passes, it will not likely be the bill.