ADVOCACY MATTERS
Pennsylvania's House and Senate are not in session for the next two weeks. Pennsylvania's primary elections on May 15 will be in the headlines for the next week. Here's
a take on the primary
with longtime political columnist John Baer of the Philadelphia Inquirer. When lawmakers return, there will be 40 days remaining before the June 30 deadline for a completed Pennsylvania Budget. While that deadline never seems to scare anyone from prolonging budget negotiations, most of
Harrisburg expects a relatively trouble-free, close-to-on-time budget
.
The
Pennsylvania Museum Preservation Act
remains in the House State Government Committee awaiting action. The House State Government Committee does not have this bill on their schedule at this time.
The House has put together a budget bill,
House Bill 2121
, and this bill has been referred to the House Appropriations Committee before its third and final consideration. The bill would provide $451,000 less than Governor Wolf's budget proposed for the operating budget for Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC). PA Museums supports the higher allocation proposed in the Governor's budget, and we will continue to keep an eye on this bill. House Bill 2121 does provide $2 million for the PHMC's Cultural and Historical Support Grants program.
It is not clear whether the House and Senate will amend and advance House Bill 2121. The Senate could introduce a budget bill at some point as well.
PA Museums went to the capitol with our advocacy partners in Harrisburg and across the Commonwealth for our annual Arts and Culture Advocacy Day on
May 2, 2018
. It was a great opportunity to speak directly to lawmakers and their staff about the importance of public policies that support museums, the arts, culture, arts education, and the creative economy. We are happy to report we had a very warm reception in the offices of the House and Senate.
Governor Wolf has announced that May 2018 will be
Pennsylvania Historic Preservation Month
. We are participating with other partners and our members in a social media campaign.
