From the Research Team

2020 State Legislative Roundup

NASAA has released its State Legislative Roundup 2020, the latest in its annual review of state legislation important to state arts agencies and the arts community. Although this legislative year was anything but normal, NASAA continued to track bills affecting SAA structure, governance, funding, arts education, programming, public art and space, and the creative economy. New this year, NASAA began tracking bills related to COVID-19 and diversity, equity and inclusion in the arts. The roundup also includes a set of infographics analyzing both current and past cultural policy trends.

This report—which includes nearly 120 bills curated from the 550 we reviewed—is designed to help arts leaders stay current on legislation and ultimately advance policy that is beneficial for the arts at the state level. As such, it considers a wide range of bills, from those that significantly strengthen the arts to those that are more negative in impact. Likewise, it includes bills across the legislative process, from enacted to failed.

Our tracking of legislation takes place over a multitude of sources and is greatly improved with the input of state arts agencies. We welcome news—now or at any point in the year—about past, current or pending legislation in your state. You can share your legislative leads, or questions, by contacting NASAA Research Associate Declan Wicks.