FY26 Arts Budget

Dear Arts Advocates,

This year’s legislative session is expected to be challenging, with Annapolis leadership predicting a significant budget deficit of nearly $3 billion. As many of us know, such fiscal challenges threaten our sector. As always, Maryland Citizens for the Arts (MCA) has been working diligently to emphasize the importance of maintaining
funding for the Maryland State Arts Council (MSAC) budget, even during the toughest times.

In Governor Moore’s initial Fiscal Year 2026 budget proposal, he recommends keeping level funding for MSAC and fully funding the arts and culture capital budget at $3 million, bringing the total MSAC budget to $34.2 million. This is encouraging news, especially considering the $2 billion in cuts across the budget.

However, the Governor’s Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act (BRFA) proposes changes to budget laws and mandates. His administration has suggested eliminating several funding formulas and mandates to stabilize the state’s financial situation. Unfortunately,
part of this proposal includes abolishing MSAC’s thirty-year-old funding formula (The 1994 Arts Stabilization Act). This is unacceptable to MCA and could potentially have devastating consequences for the future stability of arts funding in our state.

While this situation is challenging, it is not entirely unexpected —remember, this is the administration’s proposal, not yet law. The General Assembly now faces the task of determining which priorities to support and what, if any, changes to make to the proposed budget. There is much work to be done and a great deal at stake in this legislative session. MCA needs your voice and advocacy more than ever! We will keep you informed as the budget process moves forward and will engage you in letter signings, action alerts,
and other events throughout the session.

For a more detailed budget analysis and a deeper dive into the session strategy and how you can participate, please join MCA for our 2025 Budget Briefing next week on Tuesday, January 28^th, at 2 pm. Please sign up as soon as possible. A recording of the webinar will also be made available.

I also urge you to register for our flagship arts advocacy event, Maryland Arts Day, which will be held in person on Thursday, February 13th, at St. John’s College in Annapolis. We need to show up in strong numbers this year to help ensure our investment continues and that lawmakers recognize and appreciate the importance of public funding for the arts.

Onward!

Nicholas Cohen

Executive Director