The Building for the Arts (BFA) program provides competitive grants to nonprofit organizations to acquire, construct, or rehabilitate performing arts, art museums, and cultural facilities.  The Department of Commerce (Department) administers the BFA application process.  Primary duties of the Department include project selection with a citizen advisory committee and managing the contracts for grants that are awarded.  A ranked list of qualified projects, including descriptions, amount of state funds requested, and non-state funding sources must be submitted to the Governor and the Legislature biennially.  The total amount of recommended state funding on the ranked list must not exceed $12 million, except lists submitted during the 2019-21 and 2021-23 biennia may not exceed $16 million.  The total amount of state capital funding available for BFA projects is determined by the capital budget.  The state match of an individual BFA project must not exceed 20 percent of the total cost, except the match must not exceed 33.33 percent for project lists submitted during the 2019-21 biennium.  The non-state portion of the project cost may include cash, the value of property, and in-kind contributions.

The Department must include provisions in the contracts that require the capital improvements be held by the grantee for a specified period of time and that the facilities be used for the express purpose of the grant.  If a grantee is found out of compliance, they must repay to the State General Fund the principal amount of the grant, plus interest.

The maximum amount of state funding for the Building for the Arts program is increased to $18 million for the prioritized list of performing arts, art museum projects, and cultural organization projects submitted by the Department of Commerce each biennium.  The maximum state match for each individual project is increased from 20 percent to 33.33 percent of the total project cost.