Oklahoma House of Representatives
March 24, 2004

By MIKE W. RAY
House Media Division Director
OKLAHOMA CITY -- An "Art in Public Places Act" intended to "enhance public construction and encourage state cultural development" was endorsed Wednesday by a legislative panel.

Senate Bill 1347 received a "do pass" recommendation from the House appropriations and Budget Subcommittee on Natural Resources and Regulatory Services.
Principal authors of the bill are Rep. Dale Wells, D-Cushing, and Sen. Penny Williams, D-Tulsa. The proposal has bipartisan backing; its co-authors include 6 Republicans and 13 Democrats from the House and the Senate.

The Legislature "recognizes the responsibility of Oklahoma to foster culture and the arts, and declares that a portion of expenditures for capital projects ... should be set aside for acquisition of works of art to be placed in public construction or on public lands," SB 1347 declares.

The proposed law would require 1.5% of all capital expenditures (including bond issues) for renovating or constructing public buildings costing at least $250,000, to be reserved "for the purpose of funding the Oklahoma Art in Public Places Act..." The maximum assessment for any one project would be capped at $500,000, which would represent a $33 million project, Wells noted.

The mandate would apply to all state agencies, departments, boards, commissions and institutions, including state colleges and universities.

The requirements would pertain to any state building, facility, structure or park, but would not include water, sewer, or other public utility projects, prisons, nor data processing purchases. Artwork for transportation projects (roads, bridges, highways and turnpikes) would be optional.

The bill defines "art" to mean "all forms of original creations of visual art" except for "blasphemous" or "indecent or obscene" material.

Acceptable artwork would include sculpture, paintings, mosaic, photography, drawings, calligraphy, mixed media, unique architectural styles or embellishments, ornamental gateways, restoration or renovation of existing works of art of historical significance, and crafts made from clay, fiber and textiles, wood, glass, metal, plastics or any other
material.

The Oklahoma Historical Society would administer the Art in Public Places program.

Wells, who is chairman of the House Arts Caucus, said the guidelines for picking the artists and selecting the artworks would be developed by an oversight committee that would be created in SB 1347.

The oversight committee would be comprised of the directors of the state Department of Central Services, the Historical Society, the state Arts Council and the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, the Chancellor of the State Regents for Higher Education, an artist appointed by the state Arts Council, an architect and an engineer
appointed by the director of Central Services, and a museum director/curator appointed by the director of the state Historical Society.

A measure similar to Senate Bill 1347 was introduced in the Legislature four years ago but died because House and Senate negotiators were unable to agree on a compromise.

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