MCC could face 10 percent budget cut

The Massachusetts Cultural Council's budget would be cut by 10 percent under a draft state budget proposed by the state House Ways and Means Committee today.

The change, if approved, would reduce the state arts agency's budget by roughly $1.27 million to $11.4 million for fiscal year 2010, which starts July 1. The Committee's proposed cut is roughly twice the cut proposed by Governor Deval Patrick in January.

The full Massachusetts House is scheduled to debate the spending plan during the week of April 27, with the Senate scheduled to release its budget in May. The two chambers must then agree on a budget before sending it to the Governor for final approval.

The House committee's budget plan, like the governor's proposal, also does not include funds for the MCC's Cultural Facilities Fund, which the MCC says has since 2006 invested more than $24 million in the state's creative economy through grants to cultural organizations, schools, and communities to build, repair, and expand their facilities.