Testimony snafu could kill some state arts grants in Montana

Associated Press

24-02-2025

Legislature-authorized grants for several of Montana's most prominent arts organizations are in limbo as a result of an apparent miscommunication about whether a budget subcommittee had a firm requirement for applicants to testify at meetings last month.
The subcommittee's chair, Rep. John Fitzpatrick, R-Anaconda, insisted at a Friday hearing that lawmakers should cut funding for organizations that hadn't appeared — despite the state agency that coordinates the grant program, the Montana Arts Council, telling applicants that testifying was optional.
'They told these applicants that the legislative process was basically irrelevant,' Fitzpatrick said Friday as the grant funding measure, House Bill 9, was heard in front of the full House Appropriations Committee.
He added that he believes the arts grants have developed into an 'entitlement program' where the same organizations are funded session after session while putting in minimal effort.
'They have completely destroyed the concept of merit,' Fitzpatrick said. 'They're saying everybody gets the money whether you've made the effort to come here and talk to the Legislature or not.'
Among the organizations at risk of missing out on the state arts money are Helena's Grandstreet Theatre, the Emerson Center for Arts & Culture in Bozeman, the Alberta Bair Theater in Billings and the Lewistown Arts Center. Others that could see reductions include the Helena Symphony, North Valley Music School in Whitefish and the C.M. Russell Museum in Great Falls.
Friday's committee meeting included testimony from nearly 40 people involved with arts and culture organizations, most of which have funding on the chopping block. Many said that they had been under the impression that testifying at the January meetings was optional.
'We were told and led to believe that it was not a requirement to be present at the previous committee meeting,' said Grandstreet Theatre board member John Rausch. 'It feels like the rug is being pulled out from under many of these very worthy arts organizations.'
The Montana Arts Council employee who oversees the art grant program, deputy director Kristin Burgoyne, choked up as she apologized during Friday's meeting to grant applicants, saying she had misinterpreted Fitzpatrick's expectations by telling them that they didn't need to worry if they had missed the hearings.
'I was not informed that written testimony would be less preferred than in-person or Zoom,' she said.
A list of grants recommended by the Arts Council and included in Gov. Greg Gianforte's 2026-2027 budget proposal would have awarded $954,000 in cultural and aesthetic grants to 75 organizations, with most awards $12,000 or $13,500. The program, which is funded by revenue from Montana's coal trust, has existed since 1975. The state's overall budget is about $9 billion a year.
Fitzpatrick chairs the budget subcommittee that reviews the arts grants alongside state infrastructure programs authorized by other bills. He said Friday that committee members had become uncomfortable with how many potential grant recipients didn't attend the January grant hearings and decided to reduce funding for no-shows.
An amendment the subcommittee endorsed unanimously at a Feb. 17 meeting adjusted the grant list to eliminate funding for 17 grant recipients who didn't provide testimony and reduce grants for 10 organizations that submitted only written comments, reallocating the remainder to other grantees.
Those cuts could be reversed by the full House Appropriations Committee or later in the bill's path through the Legislature.
'It's not a very heavy lift to sit on a Zoom call for 15 minutes and give a presentation about your project and maybe answer a question or two from the committee in exchange for $12,000, $13,000,' Fitzpatrick said at the Feb. 17 meeting. 'But apparently we have a number of people who don't think that's part of the process.'
Democrats echoed the sentiment. Sen. Ellie Boldman, D-Missoula, said she believes it's important that committee members have the chance to question each grant recipient so they can defend the grant program to fellow lawmakers who may be skeptical of spending tax dollars on cultural endeavors.
'I think the bar is relatively low for these organizations to have tax dollars go to them for some very, very important, very good things that they're doing across Montana in communities large and small,' said Sen. Paul Tuss, D-Havre. 'And given that we offer them the opportunity to join us via Zoom, there's very little excuse why I don't think these organizations could join us.'
Materials from the Arts Council provided to grantees in advance of the January hearings indicated that testifying before the committee was optional.
'You are not required to testify, but the committee chair strongly encourages everyone to participate,' that message reads in part, adding that potential grant recipients could testify in person, via writing or by a Zoom video call.
Helena Symphony Director Allan R. Scott said in an interview before the committee hearing Friday that the symphony, which had its proposed award reduced from $12,500 to $2,000 for only submitting written testimony, has received state grant funding for decades.
While state support is a relatively small portion of the organization's $1.5 million budget, Scott said, the symphony's fundraising efforts routinely mention the state grant as it approaches other supporters to ask for donations.
Scott said he would have been happy to testify again this year, but has repeatedly witnessed lawmakers distracted by their phones instead of listening attentively when he's presented in the past. He also said a symphony staffer was on a Zoom call ready to testify before the budget subcommittee but didn't end up speaking and was told to instead submit written testimony.
'It's changing the rules of the game of the grant process after we are already off the field,' Scott said.
Scott added that he hopes Fitzpatrick reconsiders his opposition to the initial grant funding proposal.
'This is saying — hey, we want you to kiss the ring of the chair in order to get your money,' Scott said.
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