Gov Ron DeSantis, Republican of Florida, vetoed about $32 million of funding for fine arts organizations in the state last month, thereby eliminating all state grants for those organizations in a move that advocates say will devastate arts and culture, the Associated Press and NPR reported.
Tampa Theater 2 Glow (Matthew Paulson/Flickr Creative Commons)The latest development in Florida’s opposition to fine arts came Thursday when the leaders of the two theater festivals to which Mr DeSantis objected said they would sacrifice the money they were scheduled to receive if the governor released what remained of the grants to the state’s other arts organizations.
“Like you, we the Orlando and Tampa Fringe festivals care greatly about the citizens of Florida,” they wrote in an open letter to the governor, ABC News reported. “Given that common ground, we hope that you read this letter with an open mind and fully consider the proposal below.”
In the state’s $116 billion budget, the Orlando Fringe Festival was to receive $70,500 and the Tampa Fringe Festival $7,500. The governor’s objections to these two festivals—he called them “sexual” festivals despite questions about the accuracy of that characterization—led to the veto affecting hundreds of fine arts groups.
In vetoing the arts spending, Mr DeSantis said, “When I see money being spent that way, I have to be the one who stands up for taxpayers and say, ‘You know what? That is an inappropriate use of taxpayer dollars.'”
