MMA urges Tourism, Arts & Cultural Development Committee to support bills to remove art services from procurement rules

The Honorable Paul McMurtry, House Chair
The Honorable Edward J. Kennedy, Senate Chair
Joint Committee on Tourism, Arts and Cultural Development
State House, Boston

Dear Chair McMurtry, Chair Kennedy, and Distinguished Members of the Committee,

On behalf of cities and towns across the Commonwealth, the Massachusetts Municipal Association is writing to offer our support for H. 2931 and S. 2029, An Act Relative to Procurement Services for Artists, before your committee for public hearing today.

This bill would amend Chapter 30B of the General Laws to allow local governments to exempt any contracts or agreements to repair, purchase or commission artistic services, works of art, public art, and/or artifacts of unique or intrinsic artistic character from the public procurement process. The procurement process is too rigid when applied to the creative and flexible nature of working with the arts community. Exempting these contracts or agreements will bolster creativity and allow municipalities the artistic freedom that is necessary to grow their local economy.

H. 2931 and S. 2029 would simply remove an unnecessary and obsolete barrier that would help streamline and promote artistic vision in municipalities. All of this will make our state stronger and more competitive, and enhance public collaboration with the arts community.

Thank you for your interest in this very important local government matter. If you have any questions, please contact me or MMA Senior Legislative Analyst Brittney Franklin at 617-426-7272 or bfranklin@mma.org at any time.

Sincerely,

Geoffrey C. Beckwith
Executive Director & CEO