Sometimes the best thing Mississippi lawmakers can do when considering contentious legislation is nothing, and that’s the case with bills in the House and Senate to let the Mississippi Development Authority take over the Mississippi Arts Commission.
The legislation, backed by Gov. Phil Bryant, failed to make it out of the appropriate legislative committees by a deadline last week.
That doesn’t necessarily mean the issue can’t be revived, since not much is completely dead in the Mississippi Legislature until lawmakers officially call the session to an end. But the likelihood of the Arts Commission bills being revived seems slim — especially in view of protests that were aired around the state.
Bryant’s argument is that the arts, like tourism, should be under the auspices of the same agency that pursues jobs and economic development. which happens to be an agency over which the governor has more control. He appoints the director, who serves at the governor's pleasure.
The Arts Commission, a relatively small state agency, is governed by a 15-member volunteer Board of Commissioners. The commissioners are appointed by the governor for five-year staggered terms, with three new commissioners named each year. They meet quarterly to establish program objectives, recommend budgets, assess needs, evaluate program effectiveness and award grants.
Significantly, all meetings and review panels of the commission are open to the public.
Although there may be too many stand-alone boards and commissions in Mississippi, the Arts Commission isn’t one of them. There’s a lot to be said for the continuity that a board of commissioners whose terms span more than one governor provides. The benefits include being somewhat insulated from the political whims of a single administration.
Success in the arts is one thing that Mississippi gets right most of the time. We have a better record with that than we do with things under the purview of the Mississippi Development Authority.
Agencies such as the Pike County Arts Council, which was organized in 1977, have depended from their inception on the state Arts Commission for assistance and grants, many of which have come from the federal government.
This is one of those issues where it isn’t broke and doesn’t need fixing. Good for lawmakers who let the bills die. Let’s hope they stay dead.
