Statement of Douglas G. Fisher, Executive Director, Connecticut Humanities
RE: The state legislature’s decision not to override Gov. Malloy’s three line-item budget vetoes, including the elimination of the $1.73 million state appropriation for Connecticut Humanities
Connecticut Humanities finds itself in a very unfortunate predicament. What has been made clear is that a legislative override of the governor’s line-item veto would not necessarily secure our fiscal future, even in the short term. That’s because the governor has been mandated – as part of the new FY 2016-17 state budget adopted by the legislature in May – to cut an additional, as yet unspecified $170 million in spending as of July 1. Even if restored, these items could again be at immediate risk.
On the positive side, there are signs that the legislature and the administration are willing to help find some critical ‘gap’ funding for Connecticut Humanities and the many organizations it supports until such time that potential restoration of the competitive re-grant fund we administer for the state can be fully addressed in the next legislative session. I take the state leadership at their word, and thank them for their good-faith efforts to make the best of a bad situation.”
Advocacy for any cause is an ongoing exercise and we can still communicate the value of the state’s humanities community to the governor, state representatives and senators. If you have not already done so, please consider writing a letter or posting on Facebook or Twitter. Follow us on either of these platforms for updates!
Here are some background resources, for your information:
List by town and CT Map of recent CT Humanities grants by Connecticut town:
[gview file=”https://cthumanities.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Template-Letter-to-Governor-Malloy-restore-funding-061316.docx”]Model Letter to Governor Malloy and Legislators
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