Today, the Kansas Senate voted, 24 to 13, to pass Senate Resolution #1819 opposing Governor Sam Brownback’s Executive Reorganization Order #39 and the directive to eliminate the Kansas Arts Commission.

“On behalf of the Kansas Arts Commission, I thank the Kansas Senate for its support of SR1819,” said Henry Schwaller, chairman of the Kansas Arts Commission. “We are grateful for the dedication of Senator Roger Reitz, District #22, for proposing and championing the resolution.

“This could not have been possible without Kansas Citizens for the Arts, Kansas arts organizations, Kansas artists and other Kansas arts advocates and patrons,” he said. “Without their support, we would not have been successful.”

The ERO would have eliminated the Kansas Arts Commission effective July 1, 2011, and  transitioned Kansas arts from a state agency into a private organization working through the Kansas Historical Society.