By PAULA TRACY, InDepthNH.org

CONCORD – A move is underfoot in the Republican-led legislature to defund the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts and the State Library to save about $6 million in the next two years.

On Monday, the House Finance Committee Division I voted 5-4 along party lines to accept an amendment to the budget bill (HB 2) brought by Rep. Joe Sweeney, R-Salem, to defund the arts council.

The vote on the Library, which Sweeney also brought under the same amendment, was divided and is expected to be discussed on Tuesday.

Republican Rep. Gerald Griffin, R-Mont Vernon, said he could support the elimination of arts funding for a few years “I know we’re in a crisis” but said he would not support eliminating the state library and its statewide functions to support local libraries.

That led to a discussion about splitting the votes into two.

Sweeney said elimination of the arts program which provides grants and funding throughout the state for theater, music and gets federal help is a “want” in a particularly difficult budget year, and the legislature could keep the library building for state Executive or Legislative use.

He pointed to proposals in Republican chambers in Washington to similarly cut library funds.

In all, the amendment said about $6 million would be saved, with about $1.7 million coming from the Arts Council budget.

The “good news” Sweeney said is that the state does not currently have a state librarian, and the acting position would go away. A nomination for a replacement was withdrawn by former Gov. Chris Sununu after the nominee was criticized for opposing book bans in schools.

The legislators did not discuss the number of jobs that would be lost by the proposal.

Both are divisions within the state Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, and officials there could not be immediately reached for comment.

Sweeney said he did not consult officials within those offices about the potential elimination of both and it seemed to come as a surprise to the Finance Division I members.

Rep. Rosemarie Rung, D-Merrimack, said the move is “absolutely abhorrent” and charged that the budget situation was self-inflicted based on Republicans eliminating taxes for the wealthiest, to which Sweeney disagreed.

Rep. Peter Leishman, D-Peterborough, said he disagreed with the proposal but thanked him for bringing the issue forward as a way to get the public’s attention about how bad things are fiscally in the state right now.

Sweeney argued this is “a haircut we can make.”

But state Rep. Karen Ebel, D-New London said arts are a driver of tourism and doing something “this dramatic” could have a very negative economic impact.

Created in 1965 the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts has strived according to its website to ensure that every citizen and community in New Hampshire can enjoy the cultural, civic, economic and education benefits of the Arts and has worked with the National Endowment for the Arts to provide funding for the arts here.

In fiscal year 2024, the National Endowment had a budget of $207 million nationally to provide funds and Sweeney did note that he did not know whether that funding would also be lost and was contingent on a state match.

New Hampshire is home to over 300 arts, museums and cultural venues that can apply for these grant funds which now could be lost.

Sweeney noted that he was told 25 years ago that NH Democratic Party Chair Ray Buckley suggested that the state get rid of the state library.

Sweeney said he went over to tour the building adjacent to the State House recently and found two people and eight staff in the building which he called “underutilized” and when introducing his amendment, said the primary responsibility of the state library is to keep all town reports when the library at the University of New Hampshire does that as well, and even digitizes them.

But that got some pushback from a Republican, Griffin, who said it is among the oldest libraries in the country and provides interlibrary loan services statewide, something which Sweeney said could be abolished by the federal drop in funding.

Others said that hasn’t happened yet.