Task force would look at arts-economy link in Utah

A bill creating a task force to look at economic development issues linked to culture and arts passed out of a Senate committee on Monday despite several questions about its necessity.

The Senate Workforce Services and Community and Economic Development Standing Committee passed out HB67, which would create a one-year, 11-member cultural affairs task force to create an inventory of the state’s art and culture industry, assess its economic impact on the state and develop approaches to coordinate and enhance the industry.

By Brice Wallace
Deseret Morning News

http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,590042134,00.html

The task force would get a $27,500 appropriation.

"In my experience, there’s not been a task force to look at the economic contributions of the cultural . . . arts, and there are frankly some other states doing things that we need to look at to give support to the cultural arts," said the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Sheryl Allen, R-Bountiful.

That includes organizing cultural alliances, studying culture/arts economics and tax matters.

"There are some taxing authorities other states have implemented that are either directly or indirectly earmarked to support cultural arts," she said. "They’re not big ones, but ones that Utah needs to look at to see if they fit into our tax structure."

David Harmer, director of the Utah Department of Community and Economic Development, said the task force would be focused on getting a better understanding about cultural infrastructure’s role in economic development.

The last such study came in 1999, but it was limited to the nonprofit sector, according to Frank McEntire, director of state’s Division of Fine Arts.

The task force would determine local industry components "and also whether there are ways to bolster and strengthen that industry," McEntire said. "For example, we do a lot of work with biology and information technologies and other industrial sectors, but we pay very little attention, I think, to culture as an economic engine."

Sen. David Thomas, R-South Weber, wondered if local groups would have to follow any state plan the task force developed. But McEntire replied, "This would not in any way develop a dictum on the state level to force or tell a local community" how to conduct its activities.

Harmer said he would like to see his department help coordinate and implement communities’ planning and activities.

"I think the future of how this goes forward is, in my opinion, a little bit fuzzy at this stage. The first step is to try to reassess the inventory and look at what makes sense going forward," he said.

Vicki Bourns, executive director of the Utah Cultural Alliance, said the alliance supports the bill. "Oftentimes you’re supportive of the cultural community, but when there is less money, it seems sometimes like the arts and cultural community gets gets pushed aside, and we’re hoping more of a focus on it would help show the importance of it and help move our cultural community forward more," she said.

Sen. Paula Julander, D-Salt Lake, questioned whether $27,500 was needed for a task force, but McEntire said the group would look at data that is not normally collected by the division. "There’s not an overall statewide strategic plan dealing with culture as an industry," he said.

Julander said the private sector is succeeding in creating cultural activities in Utah. "If we were really flush with an enormous big budget, I’d be jumping on the bandwagon with this," she said. "But I’m just questioning it. I’m not against it, but I’m wondering if it’s the right thing to do at this time."