AUSTIN – The Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Center for Economic Freedom today released a paper by Center Director Bill Peacock and Research Associate Cody Ross on the Texas Commission of the Arts. The paper, Texas Commission on the Arts, is the first paper in the Foundation’s new series, Spotlight on State and Local Government.
“Government entities spend a lot of taxpayer money and regulate major portions of our economy,” said Peacock. “The goal of the Spotlight series is to help citizens gain a better understanding of how government entities operate and how they impact their lives.”
“Arts funding has increased steadily at the state level,” said Ross. “Looking at the commission is a good way of spotlighting this issue for the general public.”
The Texas Commission on the Arts says its “support of the creative industries assists in finding creative solutions to challenging problems.” It is a small state agency that has grown significantly in recent years. Founded as a means of accepting federal funding for the arts, the majority of its funding today comes from state general revenue. Its budget of $17.7 million for 2016-17 is up 31.7 percent from last biennium. Since 2008-09, its budget has grown by about $7 million.
To read the full report, visit: http://txpo.li/spotlight-commission-on-arts
Bill Peacock is vice president of research and director of the Center for Economic Freedom at the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
Cody Ross is a research associate for the Center for Economic Freedom at the Texas Public Policy Foundation
The Texas Public Policy Foundation is a non-profit, free-market research institute based in Austin, Texas.