Media Release from the California Arts Council:

SACRAMENTO, June 20, 2014 - Today, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. signed a state budget that includes a one-time $5 million increase in general fund support for the California Arts Council. This is the first time in over ten years the arts have seen an increase of general fund monies, after support for the Arts Council was cut by 94% in 2003.

"This is an historic day for the arts in California. The Council expresses our deepest gratitude to Governor Brown, the legislature, and the arts community for their powerful support of increased state arts funding," said Wylie Aitken, Chair of the California Arts Council.  

Aitken continued, "With this support, our state's elected officials have reinvested in the arts as a critical tool for supporting our students, fueling our state's economy, and revitalizing our communities. We congratulate them on this important first step in returning the arts to their rightful place among the priorities for our state's success."

He concluded, "We are honored to serve California's arts community, who so effectively mobilized to carry the message, locally and at the Capitol, that art works, in our schools and communities - enriching the lives of all Californians."

The Arts Council previously received an average of $1 million in annual general fund support. The total fiscal year 2014-15 general fund support for the Arts Council will reach approximately $6 million. The Arts Council budget also includes $1 million in annual support from the National Endowment for the Arts, and approximately $3 million in annual funds from sales and renewals of California's Arts License Plate.