An Act concerning the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and artist projects, and amending and supplementing P.L.1966, c.214.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. Section 2 of P.L.1966, c.214 (C.52:16A-26) is amended to read as follows:

2. The duties of the council shall be:

(a) To take such steps as may be deemed necessary and appropriate to stimulate and encourage the study and presentation of the performing and creative arts, and to foster public interest in and support of the arts in our State.

(b) To make such surveys as may be deemed advisable to public and private institutions within the State engaged in the performing and creative arts, and to make recommendations for appropriate action to enlarge the State's resources in the performing and creative arts.

(d) To assist in complementing the design of public buildings in this State in accordance with the provisions of the "Public Buildings Arts Inclusion Act."

(e) To accept and administer any gift or grant, donated pursuant to section 2 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill). Any gift or grant that is not used in accordance with the purposes set forth in section 2 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall be returned to the donor or refused. The Department of the Treasury shall provide the means by which donations may be made to the council pursuant to this subsection.

For the purposes of this act, the term "performing and creative arts" shall include, but not be limited to, music, theater, dance, literature, painting, sculpture, architecture, photography, film art, handicrafts, graphic arts and design.

(cf: P.L.1978, c.117, s.6)

2. (New section) a. The council shall establish a program to help New Jersey artists by announcing and promoting an artist or artist project on the council's Internet website. This program shall be a creative platform to enable artists to gain exposure, generate funding, and leverage donations for their artist projects, through the council, while artists may retain independence and ownership of the project. No offer of financial returns or equity, or solicitation of loans, shall be made in connection with an artist project.

b. The council shall determine the qualifications necessary to be eligible for inclusion in the program, and evaluate and approve an artist and the artist's developing project prior to promotion. In order to be included in the program, an artist shall be: (1) born, raised, residing, or working, in New Jersey; and (2) a recipient of an Individual Artist Fellowship Grant, awarded by the council.

c. The program website shall provide for any visitor to the website to donate to a specific artist or specific artist project. A gift or grant donated for the purposes of this section shall only be accepted by the council on behalf of an artist. Any donation to an artist shall be used at the discretion of the artist accepting it and any donation to a specific artist project shall be used by the artist for the designated artist project.

d. The council may request to monitor or oversee the progress of an artist project, as appropriate, and may require an artist to report progress on occasion. The council shall not be responsible for ensuring the completion of a project. An artist shall notify the council, in writing, upon completion of a project.

e. The council may collaborate, consult, or partner with an organization, including an Internet-based organization, whose mission is to support art by fundraising and engaging the public at-large, in order to fulfill the mission of the program. The council may also partner with, or contract for, such an organization to specifically announce or promote New Jersey artists and accept gifts or grants towards a developing project on behalf of the artist in furtherance of the goals of this act. As part of such a partnership or contract, the council or organization may recognize an artist who has been awarded an Individual Artist Fellowship Grant by the council.

3. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill would authorize the New Jersey State Council on the Arts ("council") to establish a program to support New Jersey artists and collect donations for projects on their behalf.

Specifically, the council would establish a program to help artists, by announcing and promoting an artist or artist project on the council's website. To be eligible, an artist must: (1) be born, raised, residing, or working in New Jersey; and (2) have received the council's Individual Artist Fellowship Grant award.

This program would be a creative platform to enable artists to gain exposure, generate funding, and leverage donations for their artist projects, through the council, while retaining independence and ownership of the project. No offer of financial returns or equity, or solicitation of loans, would be made in connection with an artist project.

The program website would provide for any visitor to the website to donate to a specific artist or specific artist project. A gift or grant donated for these purposes would only be accepted by the council on behalf of an artist. Any donation to an artist would be used at the discretion of the artist accepting it and any donation to a specific artist project would be used by the artist for the designated artist project. The council would be authorized to accept and administer gifts or grants to be used only in accordance with the purposes set forth in this bill, or they would be returned to the donor or refused. The Department of the Treasury would provide the means by which donations may be made to the council.

Under the bill, the council may request to monitor or oversee the progress of an artist project, as appropriate, and may require an artist to report progress on occasion; however, the council would not be responsible for ensuring the completion of a project, nor would it investigate an artist's ability to complete a project. An artist would be required to notify the council, in writing, upon completion of a project.

Additionally, this bill would allow the council to collaborate, consult, or partner with an organization, including an Internet-based organization (for example, a crowdsourcing or advocacy organization such as Kickstarter, Inc. or United States Artists), whose mission is to support art by fundraising and engaging the public at-large. The council may also partner with or contract for such an organization to specifically announce or promote New Jersey artists and accept gifts or grants towards a developing project on behalf of the artist in furtherance of the goals of this bill. As part of such a partnership or contract, the council or organization may recognize an artist who has been awarded an Individual Artist Fellowship Grant by the council. The Individual Artist Fellowship Grant is a highly competitive grant, which may be used to support the professional development of an artist, and is awarded to New Jersey artists in 12 different art disciplines, solely on an independent peer panel assessment of artistic quality taken from the work samples submitted.