With a stroke of his pen, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has eliminated all state arts funding for the 2025 fiscal year.
The legislature had proposed $32 million in funding for 663 organizations, including $3.1 million for 51 organizations in Palm Beach County, $3.3 million for 54 organizations in Broward County, and $6.5 million for 123 organizations in Miami-Dade. Less than ten years ago Florida ranked third in the nation in arts funding. With the elimination of all arts funding, Florida fall from its current eleventh position to dead last in the nation. The veto was a shock to all.
Florida does not have a financial reason to cut all arts funding. Florida has a $116.5 BILLION budget, with a $17 BILLION surplus. The arts funding amounted to less than three hundredths of one percent (.0274 percent) of the state budget. Toll relief to Sunpass users was $450 million, or more than ten times arts funding. Florida is spending $289 million on sales tax holidays, or nine times the vetoed arts funding.
The arts in Florida support over a quarter million jobs and the budgets of arts organizations represent over three percent of the state GDP, or $45.3 billion. The arts also see a 9:1 return on investment with spending by patrons on restaurants, hotels, parking, and other spending, which supports additional jobs and tax revenue. In Palm Beach County alone, 31 percent of attendees live outside the county. The Arts drive tourism, which is vital to our state.
This veto of arts funding shoots Florida in the foot. It will impact nearly every arts organization in Florida. In a recent survey, 48 percent of organizations reported that they will cancel public programs and 34 percent indicated that they will cut staff. Cutting arts funding was an extremely shortsighted decision that will have a profound effect in our communities.
What can we do? Our state representatives and Governor need to hear from us. We need them to understand the impact this veto makes vastly outweighs the miniscule impact on the Florida budget. They need to understand the importance of the arts in our communities, from generating tourism, to improving academic performance, to sparking creativity, to strengthening our economy. While we may not be able to undo the damage done, we can make sure that the arts are not treated with so much disrespect in the future.