House budget includes extra funding for Kentucky Arts Council

While the Kentucky House’s budget proposal doesn’t fully restore the Kentucky Arts Council’s original budget request, it does provide more money than the Governor’s budget. WFPL’s Elizabeth Kramer reports.Arts advocates and administrators got a jolt in January when the governor proposed cutting the Kentucky Arts Council’s budget by 12 percent. The House version of the budget that passed Wednesday doesn’t restore that cut, but does provide the council with $400,000 more than Governor Steve Beshear’s budget.The House move gives the council hope, says Lindy Casebier, executive director of the state’s Office of Arts and Cultural Heritage.¼br> "Well, it’s good news that the House put it in and hopefully the Senate will keep it in, but understanding that it’s all contingent on the revenue staying where it is in the Senate budget," he says.Casebier says budget cuts will affect organizations and artists statewide that receive funds from the Kentucky Arts Council.Listen to the story.