FY27 Arts Budget
This year’s legislative session is shaping up to be especially challenging, with difficult budget decisions and significant state budget deficits dominating the conversation. In this context, Maryland Citizens for the Arts (MCA) has worked diligently to ensure that the Maryland State Arts Council (MSAC) budget remained protected and continued its pattern of annual growth. On Wednesday, Governor Wes Moore unveiled the Fiscal Year 2027 budget, which required making many tough choices across state government.
That said, MCA is pleased to report that Governor Moore recommended fully funding the mandated appropriation for MSAC in his budget announcement. This amounts to $31.8 million for fiscal year 2027, a $600,000 increase over last year’s appropriation.
Additionally, Governor Moore has proposed allocating $3 million to support MSAC’s Arts and Culture Capital Grant Program. This brings MSAC’s total budget to a record nearly $35 million. Overall, under the Moore administration, MSAC’s budget has increased by 12%, highlighting the success of our collective advocacy during a challenging fiscal period.
MCA fully supports these recommendations and commends Governor Moore for a thoughtful and forward-looking budget proposal. We look forward to collaborating with the Governor and the Maryland General Assembly to ensure ongoing support and increased funding for the arts sector. For detailed information on arts legislation we are working on and a comprehensive budget analysis, join MCA for our 2026 Budget Briefing on Thursday, January 29th, at 1:00 pm. Please sign up as soon as possible! A recording will be available afterward.
Additionally, I encourage you to register for Maryland Arts Day, our flagship arts advocacy event, which will be held in person at St. John’s College in Annapolis on Thursday, February 12th. Although this budget is great news for the arts, many other agencies face cuts, so we must attend in large numbers this year to protect our funding and ensure lawmakers understand the importance of public arts funding.