Subject: URGENT: Next Steps to Protect Arts & Tourism Funding – Your Voice Is Needed Now

Dear Lake Wales Arts Supporters,

First, THANK YOU. Your quick and passionate response to our earlier call to action is making a difference—our legislators are hearing from you, loud and clear.

Here’s where things stand now:

The Florida Legislature has extended its session through June 6, 2025. This gives us more time—but we must act now, while key decisions are still being made.

Before we get into the nitty gritty, here are some facts you need to know about the impact the Arts have in our state:

According to the U.S. Department of Commerce:

  • Arts and culture contributed $50.8 billion to Florida’s economy (3.2% of the state GDP)

  • Supported 307,615 jobs, with $24.3 billion in wages and benefits

  • Over 30% of Floridians attended live performances; 16% visited visual art exhibitions

To refresh your memory about HB 7033:
Though recently amended, this bill still threatens to eliminate tourism and cultural funding across the state:

  • 75% of Tourist Development Tax (TDT) would go to property tax relief

  • Only 25% left for counties to use—with no guaranteed arts or tourism support

  • Tourist Development Councils eliminated by end of 2025

  • New mandatory public vote every 8 years to keep any TDT funding

👉 All this for just $43 in annual savings per Polk County household—at the cost of an entire sector of Florida’s economy.

Locally, what's at stake:

  • $240,000 in lost arts marketing support from Visit Central Florida

  • Exclusion from Cultural & Museum Grants, despite LWAC’s high grant score (93.5); a loss of $90,000 in funds used to operate and staff the Lake Wales Arts Center.

These cuts would cripple our ability to deliver year-round programming that reaches over 20,000 students and visitors annually.

Here are just a few programs in jeopardy:

  • Sacred Currents (African art exhibition)

  • Size Matters (LWAC Members’ Show)

  • Summer Arts Camps & Studio 60

  • Sandy’s MusicGirls

  • Plein Air Symposium at Bok Tower Gardens

  • Lake Wales Arts Festival (55th year!)

  • Marilyn Newell Youth Music Festival

  • Concerts: Jazz, Classical, Global Music, and Lake Wales Live

  • Weekend master classes with top artists

What You Can Do Right Now:

1. THIS WEEK - Contact your Florida Senators – urge them to
❌ Reject HB 7033 and HB 1221
✅ Stand strong in protecting arts, culture, and tourism in the Senate’s budget

Senate President Ben Albritton
📧 Albritton.Ben@flsenate.gov
📞 850-487-5027 (Aide: Karen Whaley | Whaley.Karen@flsenate.gov)

Senator Colleen Burton
📧 Burton.Colleen@flsenate.gov
📞 850-487-5012 (Aide: Ranay Willis | Willis.Ranay@flsenate.gov)

2. Contact Governor DeSantis – urge a veto if these provisions pass
📧 GovernorRon.DeSantis@eog.myflorida.com
📞 850-717-9210

Please act TODAY—and keep reaching out throughout this extended session.

These harmful bills are still on the table, and your persistent advocacy could be what tips the scale.

Thank you for standing with us—and with the artists, teachers, musicians, and community builders who make Lake Wales a vibrant cultural home.

In solidarity,
The Board of Directors, Staff, and Supporters of the Lake Wales Arts Council

SAMPLE LETTER TO SENATORS/GOVERNOR:

[Today’s Date]

Florida Senate or Office of Governor Ron DeSantis
Tallahassee, FL 32399

Dear Senator [Name]/Governor DeSantis,

I am writing to respectfully urge you to protect Florida’s arts, culture, and tourism economy by opposing the harmful provisions contained in HB 1221 and HB 7033, recently passed by the Florida House. These measures would redirect vital tourism and arts funding, dismantle local tourist development councils, and undermine the cultural programs that drive local economies—like those supported by the Lake Wales Arts Council.

The Lake Wales Arts Council engages over 20,000 visitors and students annually, fueling cultural enrichment and economic development. We rely on critical support from the Department of State’s Cultural and Museum Grant Program and tourism marketing grants through Visit Central Florida. The proposed cuts would devastate small cities like Lake Wales.

I respectfully ask you to:

  • Maintain the Senate’s tax package without the damaging TDT provisions in HB 1221 and HB 7033.

  • Negotiate firmly with the House to exclude these provisions from the final budget.

  • Protect Florida’s arts, tourism marketing, and cultural heritage.

The potential harm to our local economy and cultural sector far outweighs the minor property tax savings being promised.

Thank you for your leadership and for standing with communities like Lake Wales.

Respectfully,
[Your name, title, etc]