Wyoming, the State of Art Lovers?

As we were learning about capture theory in class, I was reminded of the funny threads on twitter enumerating ridiculous laws that appeared to serve no purpose. 10 year old me just chalked this up to not understanding "politics" and thinking lawmakers must have done this to be funny. I now realize that legislators would never enact a law without either a concrete benefit to their constituency or for the public good, especially since every piece of legislation requires an immense amount of time and effort. On average, a bill takes 263 days to become a law.

In Wyoming, article 16-6-802 states that any construction of a new building that costs over $100,000 must dedicate 1% of the budget towards art for the building. On the surface, this law is justified by the government desiring to spread arts for the public good. While this may be partially true, the enactment of this law can be directly attributed to pressure from the NASAA - the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies. This situation is a perfect example of Stigler's capture theory. Capture theory is the idea that regulation is acquired by the industry and is designed and operated primarily for its benefit. In this case, the "industry" is artists and art sellers who profit from this mandatory increase in art sales. Without this regulation, those constructing new buildings (given the choice) would likely choose to spend significantly less than 1% of the budget on the purchase of art. This sets a quantity minimum on art sales that is directly proportional to the construction of new buildings. 

When industries seek regulation, there is a hole that the private sector cannot fill for the firms. The solution for the industry lies in the fact that the government "can ordain physical movements of resources and the economic decisions of firms without their consent" (Stigler 4). The NASAA states that they lobby for governmental regulation in the arts because the private sector falls short in several ways. Firstly, philanthropic giving to the arts is geographically disproportional, favoring urban art communities and neglecting rural ones. Additionally, the goals of corporations in purchasing art may be worthy, but they might not address the broad art community needs. Less "basic" artists are often neglected, forcing artists to focus only on art that will be commercially successful rather than committing to the integrity of their work. This regulation would increase the overall profits flowing into the art community of Wyoming, as well as, increasing the focus on art.