ADVOCACY

PENNSYLVANIA BUDGET SEASON

Pennsylvania's budget season kicked off yesterday, February 4, with Governor Shapiro's introduction of his third Executive Budget. This is only the beginning of the budget process; for the next few weeks, lawmakers will react to the Governor's budget, frame their priorities and take part in budget hearings. Any of the four caucuses could introduce a version of the budget that can serve as a placeholder, and once hearings are concluded, negotiations will begin that will lead to a spending plan lawmakers agree upon and that Governor Shapiro will sign. This year's Executive Budget can be found here.

The Governor's budget proposal included $2 million for the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission's (PHMC) Cultural and Historical Grants program, down from the $4 million available last year. The PHMC's operating budget would increase around 5% to $25,500,000.

The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA), supporting art museums among other activities, would see its grants remain flat funded at almost $9.6 million with a small increase to its operating budget.

The proposal provided the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) with fewer dollars for Tourism Marketing and reduced funding for accredited zoos to $1 million from last year's $1.5 million. American250PA would see flat funding at $2.5 million under the plan.

Pennsylvania's Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), supporting the Commonwealth's Parks and Forests, would see an increased investment in those assets, some of which have historical significance and historical assets. DCNR's line item for support of the National Heritage Areas, many of which manage museums and historical sites, was flat funded at $5 million in the Governor's budget.

PA Museums is organizing our advocacy effort around the PHMC's Cultural and Historical Support Grant line item that so many of our members need for their general operations. We will be calling our members to action as the Pennsylvania budget is developed over the coming months. With help from you, our members, we secured $4 million last fiscal year.

2025 PA MUSEUM CONFERENCE CALL FOR SESSION PROPOSALS

Save the date for PA Museums' 2025 Conference. We'll be in Erie, PA, September 28-30, 2025.

Start planning now to join us! Our theme will be From Community Anchors to Community Catalysts. Our theme will explore the ways museums and historical organizations, rooted in place and traditions, can transform and influence communities and culture through partnerships and new strategies.

PA Museums is looking for conference sessions including off site tours now. Please click here to propose a program for our conference.

Information for exhibitors, sponsors, and advertisers is available now. Please click here to see our 2025 pricing. Please email Rusty Baker, Executive Director of PA Museums to learn more. We encourage businesses and non-profits that work with museums to consider joining us an exhibitors!

NATIONAL MUSEUM SURVEY

The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) has launched its first National Museum Survey. Your participation will provide your institution with the ability to access reports on the survey findings and give you access to a dynamic data portal once it is released in early summer 2025. The survey will be available to every type and size of museum. PA Museums encourages your participation. If your institution did not receive an invitation from IMLS, you can request one by clicking here.

ABOUT THE METEOR FROM PA MUSEUMS

The Meteor is intended to be a regular communication to organizations and people who are not members of PA Museums. Using some but not all of the content from our members' only newsletter Tapestry that was sent yesterday, The Meteor will keep you informed about our programs, advocacy work, grants, career opportunities, news, and other developments and trends for the good of the museum community.

We recognize our mailing lists are imperfect and some members will receive this publication in addition to Tapestry. Some email addresses appear on multiple lists gathered for different purposes. Please bear with us as we update our lists.

If you have any questions or comments about The Meteor, please feel free to get in touch with us. We hope you enjoy it, and thank you for reading.

PA Museums | rusty.baker@pamuseums.org 

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