NH lawmakers move to defund the arts and eliminate state library, calling them ‘optional'
New Hampshire Republicans voted to eliminate the state's art division and seemed poised to defund the New Hampshire State Library at a House panel Monday.
Rep. Joseph Sweeney, R-Salem, introduced the proposals, citing budgetary concerns.
'This is a budget in which we really need to identify what we need to fund as a state and to make reductions in the, what I would call the optional or the wants of the state,' Sweeney said at a meeting of the House Finance Division 1 Committee. 'Two of those that I've identified would be under the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, the Division of Arts and the State Library.'
The cuts are not final yet: they must go before the full House, a Senate committee, and the full Senate, to start.
The New Hampshire State Council on the Arts provides funding for arts programs across the state. Created in 1965, the council describes itself as a 'state agency enhancing the quality of life in New Hampshire by stimulating economic growth through the arts, investing in the creativity of students, and making the arts accessible to underserved populations.'
Built in 1895, the New Hampshire State Library is the oldest library in the country. It houses archival materials and provides access to library and informational resources for New Hampshire residents across the state.
Cutting both would save the state about $6.2 million in the fiscal year 2026 and 2027, according to the proposal. To Sweeney, 'it's one of those cuts that we just sort of have to make' in order to balance the budget.
Sweeney said that records stored at the library could be transferred to the Secretary of State. He also proposed that the library building be used as office space for the legislative branch.
Arts and library funding has often been under attack by the current federal administration: just recently, President Donald Trump ordered the shuttering of a small government agency that funds libraries and museums across the country.
Sweeney said that there is no 'constitutional need' to fund the arts or the state library.
'This is a haircut we can make that doesn't impact doesn't have negative externalities when we're talking about the health and well-being of the state,' he said.
But some lawmakers on both sides pushed back.
Rep. Gerald Griffin, R-Mont Vernon, said he could not support eliminating the state library at this time and asked the vote to be delayed.
'I was pulling old documents in there that you just can't get anywhere else,' Griffin said. 'It's part of our history, and I think at least the building itself and the function that is served have to be preserved.'
Democrats argued against the proposals, saying that arts are a driver of business and getting rid of the council could have a negative economic impact.
Rep. Rosemarie Rung, D-Merrimack, said that the budget issue is 'self-inflicted' by Republicans voting against other things that could've increased state revenues, such as the dividends and interest tax.
"I think it's absolutely abhorrent that we're discussing zeroing out, firing people at the state level in these departments that are focused on the State Library and arts,' Rung said. 'I think it's really going to be a wakeup call to Granite Staters when they realize they're living in a state where their representatives aren't even supporting these types of programs.'
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: NH State Library, Council of Arts risk elimination under budget plan
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