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Legislative News and Views - Rep. Phyllis Kahn (DFL)

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Kahn Introducing Bill to Establish Community Ownership of Minnesota Orchestra

Monday, October 14, 2013

ST. PAUL, MN – Today, State Representative Phyllis Kahn (DFL – Minneapolis) announced plans to introduce legislation designed to ensure the long-term viability of the Minnesota Orchestra.

Kahn, who chairs the House Legacy Committee responsible for appropriating state funds to support the arts, said her bill can help Minnesota retain its world-renowned orchestra and prevent the kind of uncertainty caused by the current lockout, which has now dragged on for over a year.

 “My bill establishes broad-based community ownership of the Minnesota Orchestra as a means for preventing the kind of ongoing disputes between musicians and management that we’re seeing right now,” said Kahn, who dubs the approach as the ‘Green Bay Packer model,’ referencing the publicly owned and third oldest NFL franchise. “It creates a path that ultimately allows our state to retain this cultural and economic asset over the long haul.”

The legislation directs the governor to facilitate the formation of a corporation or other form of business organization to acquire the Minnesota orchestra and to identify a private governing structure. The organization would operate under the following provisions:

  • No individual or entity may own more than five percent of the common stock.
     
  • At least 50 percent of the ownership must be sold to members of the public in a general solicitation through which no person or entity may own more than one percent of the common stock.
     
  • The governance documents of the organization may provide for a class of preferred stock in addition to common stock, and may specify what rights accrue to each class of stock.
     
  • The governance documents of the organization must ensure that artistic decisions are made only by persons employed to make those decisions, and not by the board of directors of the governing entity.

“I see the state of Minnesota and City of Minneapolis as obvious partners under this kind of operational structure,” said Kahn. “State bonding dollars contributed $14 million towards the recently completed renovation of Orchestra Hall, which is owned by the City of Minneapolis. We’ve already invested considerable resources in the orchestra at the state and local level.”

The bill would put Minnesota’s internationally-acclaimed orchestra on par with a number of other state and community owned orchestras throughout the world, including the Argentine National Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra of Peru, Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, and the National Symphony Orchestra of Mexico.

“It’s my hope that this bill refreshes the dialogue between everyone that has a stake in this matter on how we can move forward,” added Kahn.