A 6296: Establishes regional arts, cultural affairs, and parks grants for ten regions throughout the state for capital projects.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6296 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY March 3, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. R. CARROLL, DeSTEFANO, REYES, TAGUE, WILLIAMS -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. COOK, SAYEGH, SIMON -- read once and referred to the Committee on Tourism, Parks, Arts and Sports Develop- ment AN ACT to amend the arts and cultural affairs law, in relation to the establishment of regional arts, cultural affairs, and parks grants The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The arts and cultural affairs law is amended by adding a 2 new article 6 to read as follows: 3 ARTICLE 6 4 REGIONAL ARTS, CULTURAL AFFAIRS, AND PARKS GRANTS 5 Section 6.01. Definitions. 6 6.03. Establishment of arts, cultural affairs, and parks 7 regions. 8 6.05. Regional arts, cultural affairs, and parks competitive 9 grants. 10 § 6.01. Definitions. For the purposes of this article, the following 11 terms shall have the following meanings: 12 1. "Regions" shall mean the arts, cultural affairs, and parks regions 13 established in section 6.03 of this article. 14 2. "Regional councils" shall mean the councils which issue grants 15 under section 6.05 of this article. 16 § 6.03. Establishment of arts, cultural affairs, and parks regions. 17 Ten arts, cultural affairs, and parks regions shall be established with- 18 in the state, one for each of the following regions: 19 1. Long Island (which consists of Suffolk and Nassau counties); 20 2. the city of New York (which consists of Bronx, New York, Queens, 21 Kings, and Richmond counties); 22 3. the Mid-Hudson region (which consists of Sullivan, Ulster, Dutch- 23 ess, Orange, Putnam, Westchester, and Rockland counties); EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD08872-01-5 
 A. 6296 2 1 4. the Southern tier (which consists of Steuben, Schuyler, Tompkins, 2 Chemung, Tioga, Chenango, Broome, and Delaware counties); 3 5. the Capital region (which consists of Warren, Washington, Saratoga, 4 Schenectady, Rensselaer, Albany, Columbia, and Greene counties); 5 6. the Mohawk valley (which consists of Oneida, Herkimer, Fulton, 6 Montgomery, Otsego, and Schoharie counties); 7 7. the North country (which consists of Clinton, Franklin, St. 8 Lawrence, Jefferson, Lewis, Hamilton, and Essex counties); 9 8. the Central region (which consists of Oswego, Cayuga, Onondaga, 10 Madison, and Cortland counties); 11 9. the Finger Lakes region (which consists of Orleans, Monroe, Wayne, 12 Genesee, Wyoming, Livingston, Ontario, Seneca, and Yates counties); and 13 10. the Western region (which consists of Niagara, Erie, Chautauqua, 14 Cattaraugus, and Allegany counties). 15 § 6.05. Regional arts, cultural affairs, and parks competitive grants. 16 1. The governor shall, in each region, establish a council who shall 17 issue competitive grants within the region. The members of each regional 18 council shall be local experts and stakeholders from arts and cultural 19 affairs organizations and parks organizations within the region. Each 20 regional council shall have seven total members appointed to such coun- 21 cil. Five members of each regional council shall be appointed by the 22 governor and shall serve at the pleasure of the governor, one member of 23 each regional council shall be appointed by the speaker of the assembly 24 and serve at the pleasure of the assembly, and one member of each 25 regional council shall be appointed by the temporary president of the 26 senate and serve at the pleasure of the senate. All members of the 27 regional councils shall be subject to the provisions of section seven- 28 ty-three-a of the public officers law. 29 2. The regional councils shall, with approval from the governor, issue 30 competitive grants to arts and cultural affairs organizations and parks 31 organizations within their region for capital projects such that: 32 (a) in the city of New York region, an equal amount of grant money is 33 issued to organizations with operating budgets of ten million dollars or 34 more as is issued to organizations with operating budgets of less than 35 ten million dollars; and 36 (b) in all other regions, an equal amount of grant money is issued to 37 organizations with operating budgets of five million dollars or more as 38 is issued to organizations with operating budgets of less than five 39 million dollars. 40 3. The regional councils shall determine which organization shall 41 receive a competitive grant based on criteria established by the gover- 42 nor for such purpose. 43 4. No regional council shall issue a grant to an organization which 44 has received a grant under this article within the prior three years. 45 5. No regional council shall issue grants totaling more than fifty 46 percent of such council's grant money issued in a calendar year to parks 47 organizations. 48 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.