Texas Governor Seeks to Deny Money to Arts and Historical Commissions

Texas Gov. Rick Perry called Tuesday for the state to indefinitely suspend financing for state agencies that make grants to groups that work in the arts and historic preservation, the Austin American-Statesman and the Houston Chronicle report.

The state supplies about a fifth of the Texas Historical Commission $100-million budget and 9 percent of the Texas Commission on the Arts $14.8-million budget. In his State of the State address Tuesday, Governor Perry termed the agencies “non-mission-critical entities” as Texas battles a two-year budget gap of $15-billion to $27-billion.

Nonprofit cultural and preservation groups decried the proposed cuts, saying grants from the commissions helped drive employment, tax revenue, and economic development in Texas communities.