Supporters of the arts are calling on Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback to restore state funding for the Kansas Arts Commission.

Several supporters were joined Tuesday at a news conference by Rep. Paul Davis of Lawrence in urging the Republican governor to restore $700,000 for the commission.

Davis is the top Democrat in the Kansas House. He says Brownback’s action was behind recent decisions by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Mid-American Arts Alliance to withhold $1.2 million in grants to Kansas.

Brownback deleted the funding for the commission from the budget passed by lawmakers and created a nonprofit foundation to raise money for the reconstituted Kansas Arts Commission.

A spokeswoman says while Brownback personally supports the arts, state funds were needed elsewhere to support core government programs.