Drafter
Clerk 11/28/2023
Title
AN ORDINANCE creating the King County Doors Open Program to support cultural organizations, imposing a one-tenth of one percent sales and use tax to finance the King County Doors Open Program; and repealing Ordinance 18513, Section 1, Ordinance 18513, Section 2, Ordinance 18513, Section 3, Ordinance 18513, Section 4, and Ordinance 18513, Section 7.
Body
STATEMENT OF FACTS:
1. The Washington state Legislature declared in RCW 36.160.010 that there is a need to provide public and educational benefits and economic support for arts, science, and heritage organizations.
2. The King County council, through Motion 14082 and Motion 14299, unanimously endorsed the need to provide public and educational benefits and economic support for arts, science, and heritage organizations.
3. King County residents would greatly benefit from improved public access to programs produced by nonprofit arts, science, and heritage organizations that would be enabled by an increase in public funding for those organizations.
4. Providing increased financial support for arts, science, and heritage organizations in King County is in the public interest and will serve multiple public purposes such as:
a. Enhancing and extending the educational reach and offerings of arts, science, and heritage organizations will provide all King County residents with meaningful opportunities to explore personal creativity, learn about local history, and understand the natural environment, leading to greater civic engagement;
b. Ensuring K-12 public school students in all nineteen King County school districts will benefit from greater access to arts, science, and heritage organizations, both through in-depth programs in their own classrooms and opportunities for visits to cultural attractions, which will lead to better engagement in the classroom and higher graduation rates; and
c. Ensuring continued and expanded access to the facilities and programs of arts, science,...
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