The reauthorization of the cleared a major hurdle today when a bill to put the measure before voters this November cleared the Finance Committee.
The panel’s unanimous vote pushes the bill to the Appropriations Committee where it must again pass before moving the Senate floor, then on to the House of Representatives, and ultimately, to ballot boxes in the seven-county Denver metropolitan region.
The decision came at the end of a two-hour hearing where opponents of the way the SCFD plans to distribute funds came under fire from smaller arts groups. The SCFD — funded by a sales tax of one penny on every $10 — gives most of its money to the larger groups based in Denver.
The current bill would give a slightly bigger share to smaller groups but maintain the practice of most generously supporting the region’s five major institutions — the , Denver Performing Arts Center, , Denver Zoo and .
“Just because we have less does that mean we deserve less?” asked Tony Garcia, who runs , among the smaller of the 275 groups that receive funds.
SCFD supporters maintained that the revised formula came out of consensus reached through four years of surveys, task force meetings and public hearings that included hundreds of arts groups.
The reauthorization under consideration would extend the SCFD through 2030. During that time, the amount of money going to arts groups is projected to grow as the local economy expands.
The SCFD collected $54 million last year. It expects to take in $88 million annually by 2030.
Ray Mark Rinaldi: 303-954-1540, rrinaldi@denverpost.com or @rayrinaldi
