Title 9 Part 6403

The purpose of this Part is to set forth the general regulations that govern the operations and procedures of the New York State Council on the Arts, a State agency.

For the purposes of this Part:

council means the governing body of the New York State Council on the Arts. The council shall consist of 20 individuals appointed by the Governor.

council committees means the committees that are established to review funding requests from the individual program departments of the council. Council committees are composed of members of the council and they review and vote upon each request for funding in each application after it has been reviewed by the council's staff and the appropriate advisory panel. Each council committee makes funding recommendations to the council. Each council committee shall have at least five members, all of whom shall be members of the council.

advisory panel means an advisory body of the council that reviews the requests for funding in each application after it has been reviewed by members of the council staff. Advisory panels are composed of qualified individuals selected by the chairman and approved by the council to collectively advise and assist the council in the cultural funding process.

funding request means a request or application for public funds by an applicant to the council in order to accomplish a public purpose for the cultural benefit of the people of the State of New York.

grant means an allocation of funds by the council to an applicant pursuant to a cultural services contract to accomplish a public purpose of support and stimulation of the arts.

cultural services contract means a contract between a recipient of public funds and the council on behalf of the State of New York.

The advisory panels shall act as advisory bodies of the council and shall review and analyze information that is collected by the staff with respect to applicants for council funding. The advisory panels shall review each request for funding and submit final recommendations to the appropriate council committee. The council committees shall consider the recommendations of the advisory panels and the basis for such recommendations. The advice and recommendations of the advisory panels are not final determinations of the council. Meetings of the advisory panels may be conducted in private pursuant to the council's authority under the Arts and Cultural Affairs Law, section 3.05(4).

The advisory panels shall consist of individuals from the public who are qualified and knowledgeable in their particular field of endeavor pertaining to the arts, selected to review the funding applications in their particular program area.

Advisory panelists shall be chosen by the chairman with the approval of the council. The council shall solicit annually nominations of panelists from the staff, current panelists, council members and members of the arts constituency and the general public.

The council shall actively solicit nominations for qualified advisory panelists through its newsletter, press releases and other publications, and shall inform all parties and members of the public of the appropriate time to submit nominations.

Nominations for advisory panelists shall be made in writing, shall state the qualifications of the nominee and shall include a resume of the person being nominated. An individual may nominate himself or herself. Nominations shall be sent or delivered to the executive director's office at the council.

The term of each advisory panel member is one year. Members may be reappointed by the chairman with the approval of the council for a term of up to three years. In general, a panelist serving three consecutive years will not be reappointed. Each advisory panel shall have no fewer than seven members and no more than fifteen members. Vacancies which arise on any advisory panel shall be filled or left vacant at the discretion of the chairman.

The chairman shall use his or her best efforts to appoint at least two unaffiliated members who are not affiliated with any applicant reviewed by the advisory panel on which he or she sits. Affiliation is further defined in the council's code of ethics. Each panelist shall be required to act with utmost impartiality with respect to all applications, including the applications of other affiliated panelists.

The council shall publish guidelines at least biennially. The purpose of the council's guidelines shall be to provide all interested members of the public with a general overview of the council's operations and procedures. Copies of the guidelines shall be available during regular business hours at the office of the council upon request. The guidelines shall include the following information:

The guidelines shall include information about the various artistic programs of the council and the specific funding categories within each such program.

The guidelines shall identify the specific criteria which will be used to determine the eligibility of organizations which apply to the council for funding. Eligibility criteria may vary from year to year depending on the language of the annual appropriations bill passed by the New York State Legislature. Eligibility is limited to nonprofit organizations.

The guidelines shall contain:

The guidelines shall include an overview of the council's review process and a description of the functions of the staff, the advisory panels, the council committees and the council. The guidelines shall also outline the requirements of the application process for those who wish to apply for funds in accordance with this section. The guidelines shall further contain a brief description of the cultural services contract which funded organizations must execute upon receiving funding from the council and shall outline the grounds for appeal and the process which is available to applicants who wish to appeal a funding decision of the council.

The guidelines shall include or describe the necessary application forms and provide explanatory instructions for completing such forms.

The guidelines shall inform the public of the council's open meeting policy as stated in section 6403.2 of this Part.

The guidelines shall inform the public of the right to obtain access to records and documents in accordance with the Freedom of Information Law.

The council shall notify each applicant of its funding decision in writing within 30 days of the council meeting at which the final decision is made.

Upon written request, an applicant that has been denied funding or that receives a grant for less than the requested amount, shall receive a written explanation of the council's decision within 60 days of such request. Such explanation shall include a statement of the facts and findings relied upon, and the reasons underlying the council's decisions.

Applicants that receive favorable funding decisions from the council must enter into a cultural services contract with the council, detailing the obligations of the applicant upon receiving its grant. All cultural services contracts require compliance with the New York State Finance Law and the New York State Labor Law and prohibit discrimination by recipients of council funds based on race, creed, color, national origin, sex, age, disability or marital status.

If any provision of this Part or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is judged invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, such judgment shall not affect or impair the validity of the other provisions of this Part or the application thereof to other persons or circumstances.