Jennifer Hogge // Republican // Utah House District 14
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How have the arts, culture, and/or humanities impacted your life?
- I enjoy reading a variety of literature, attending the theater and live music performances. I play the piano for enjoyment and stress relief. Learning about a variety of cultures and religions is also important to me. This helps me relate to others regardless of their backgrounds or perspectives. The arts and humanities have a way of connecting people that other disciplines don't.
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Utah's humanities and arts employ 123,000 Utahns, provide $4.4 billion in earnings, and $13.2 billion in sales. This is a larger economic impact than agriculture, mining, and real estate. Do you consider the arts and cultural sector an economic driver in Utah?
- Yes
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Fiscally responsible government investment in the arts and humanities (including humanities and arts education) means to me:
- Being fiscally responsible first means to ensure there is a return on investment. When government funding is used, it is important that long-term benefits are analyzed. When Utah is a showcase to artists, there tends to be longer term benefits to the State's tourism and industry. This was well-proven after the 2002 Olympics. Our state has a strong tradition of the cultural arts and humanities which should continue to enhance our quality of life. While not the first thing people think of about fiscal responsibility, the RAMP/RAP taxes have been put to good use where implemented.
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I support the following legislative items:
- Grants to be used for operations (jobs) as soon as possible
- Keeping emergency loans open to nonprofits
- Protecting the RAP taxes so that money granted to cultural organizations doesn't get repurposed
- Increasing availability of loans to cultural businesses (non-profit and for-profit)
- Fiscally responsible government investment in arts and humanities organizations.
- Development of cultural districts
- Facilitating partnerships between tourism and culture.
- Percent for public art programs, which optionally designate 1% of government capital costs for public art
- Allowing municipalities to set design standards
- K-6 Students should have increased exposure to arts and humanities education
- 7-12 Students should have increased exposure to arts and humanities education
- I support the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Arts Learning Program which puts one arts specialist in most elementary schools
- I support the POPS (Professional Outreach Program in the Schools) which sends 13 professional arts organizations to all UT school districts
- I support the iSEE (Informal Science Educational Enhancement) which sends 10 professional science, zoological, and natural history organizations to all UT school districts
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Anything else we should know about you?
- As a teacher, I have enjoyed the impact of the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Arts Learning Program, the POPS program and iSEE events. It is critical to ensure the arts and humanities remain a part of our educational system and culture at large. As a STEM teacher, I know the arts can be lost in that movement, but I'm convinced that the arts are a necessary part of STEM and STEM is an important part of the arts. Without the arts, I fear many of our secondary students would be lost in school. For many of our children, their ability to express themselves is what keeps them going to school. I know the dropout rate would increase if we took these opportunities away. Overall, Utah's long-standing tradition of cultural arts and humanitarian outreach must continue. It makes us all better citizens and able to relate to others with more emotional intelligence.
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