The S.C. Arts Commission’s employees are heading back to the office today after legislators overturned Gov. Nikki Haley’s veto of the organization’s budget.According to The State, Sen. John Courson, R-Richland, said upholding Haley’s veto of the Arts Commission budget would have left S.C. as the only state without an agency devoted to the arts, calling that “a huge, huge black eye.”
Haley argued that the organization is an inappropriate use of public money and that the arts community should instead rely on private donations.
The State quotes Haley: “What do you say about arrogant behavior of the Arts Commission that absolutely did nothing but protest on the State House grounds? We’ve got to see some proactive reasoning (by) people saying, ‘We want to work and try and make things better,’ not just consistently saying, ‘No.’ ”
The S.C. Arts Alliance singled out Senators Hayes, Courson, Sheheen, and Lourie for speaking in support of the Arts Commission, the arts, and arts education. They encourage citizens to thank their legislators for their efforts.
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