Small increase for arts council

Already cut to the bone with the lowest per-capita budget of any state arts agency, the California Arts Council was spared further incisions Thursday under the austere state spending plan submitted by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Overall, the agency would get a nearly 7% boost, from about $5.3 million to $5.7 million. However, almost the entire proposed increase relies on the expected goodwill of arts-loving motorists who voluntarily pay extra for their license plates to help fund the arts council. License plate fees would cover 56% of the arts budget, with the rest divided about equally between federal grant money and funds from general state coffers.

California’s arts spending would be less than 16 cents per capita, compared to a national average of $1.21, according to the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies.

-- Mike Boehm