The DIA, with its millions of dollars of artwork, was mentioned by Detroit emergency financial manager Kevin Orr as a potential target to help offset the cost of the budget crisis the City of Detroit is in. Legislation introduced in the state Senate intends to protect DIA artwork from possible sale. / Eric Seals/Detroit Free Press
Pledging a fight to prevent a sale of treasured works at the
Detroit Institute of Arts in a potential city bankruptcy, a top state
lawmaker introduced a bill to do just that — although it’s not clear a
state law would suffice in a federal bankruptcy court.
The bill, sponsored by state Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville, R-Monroe, would turn into state law an argument that the museum’s leaders have made amid the uproar that resulted after the Free Press revealed last week that DIA art is at risk if Detroit files a Chapter 9 municipal bankruptcy.
Richardville said Thursday that the details of how the bill would work are “somewhat technical.”
“This is such an important asset to the city of Detroit and to the people of Michigan, it was important that we introduce something that got everyone’s attention and said, ‘Hey, look, if it’s a problem in Detroit and Michigan, the Legislature has a responsibility to look at it,’ ” Richardville said.
He said the bill would be put into committee next week for discussions. Among those discussions is likely to be how the bill, if made into law, would square with federal bankruptcy law.
Laura Beth Bartell, a professor of bankruptcy law at Wayne State University Law School, cast doubt on whether a state law passed now could protect the DIA collection from a possible Orr-mandated sell-off. Federal law in general trumps state laws, and a state law that limits the powers that Orr could exercise under the federal bankruptcy code probably would not stand judicial review.
“I’m not sure what this would do” to protect the collection, Bartell said of the proposed legislation.
Richardville said he was unsure about the conflict between state and federal law, but said “we’re going to be in there like David and Goliath. David won, by the way. We’re going to articulate our position. I don’t know if there are other things that can be done. This is to get everyone to concentrate on the problem.
“We’re going to be in there fighting. It’s important to the state. Next week we’ll know a lot better.”
State officials, emergency manager Kevyn Orr and others insist there is no proposal on the table to use paintings or other DIA jewels to pay down Detroit’s $15 billion-$17 billion in bond debts and retiree pension and health care costs. But Orr has spoken with DIA leadership to alert them about the possibility of creditors seeking repayment of debts through sales of city-owned assets such as the museum and its artwork.
The issue also has raised questions about the propriety of placing so much emphasis on artworks when pressing quality-of-life issues like public safety and emergency response, vacant and abandoned homes, and streetlighting remain a daily struggle in the city.
Senate Bill 401 would amend a state law passed in 2010 to allow for a regional millage that voters approved to support DIA operations. It would add a key provision: “An art institute shall adhere to the code of ethics for museums published by the American Alliance of Museums or a successor organization.”
Kirk Profit, a former state representative and a lobbyist for the DIA, said that the bill would add the heft of state law to the DIA’s argument that professional ethics for museums preclude sales of art to satisfy debts, a move many fear would diminish the DIA’s stature as one of the nation’s leading museums and unleash a backlash among its biggest supporters and donors.
“We’re working very closely with everyone in state government to make sure we do the best we can to protect these assets,” Profit said Thursday at the Mackinac Policy Conference on Mackinac Island. “I think collectively we will succeed.”
News of the bill’s introduction came as state Treasurer Andy Dillon said discussion of potential DIA asset sales was premature. Dillon noted during a panel discussion Thursday that the city and Orr are still working to avoid a bankruptcy filing over the next 60-90 days and trying to arrange negotiated settlements with creditors, retirees and city unions.
“It’s putting the cart before the horse,” Dillon said. “What’s being discussed here is a legal possibility, not a hypothetical. We’re not there yet.”
Dillon noted that the DIA has hired legal counsel to advise it on protecting its public trust as a holder of the region’s art.
“I think it’s going to be a very complex legal issue,” Dillon said. “I just think it was way too soon for it to hit the press.”
The bill, sponsored by state Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville, R-Monroe, would turn into state law an argument that the museum’s leaders have made amid the uproar that resulted after the Free Press revealed last week that DIA art is at risk if Detroit files a Chapter 9 municipal bankruptcy.
Richardville said Thursday that the details of how the bill would work are “somewhat technical.”
“This is such an important asset to the city of Detroit and to the people of Michigan, it was important that we introduce something that got everyone’s attention and said, ‘Hey, look, if it’s a problem in Detroit and Michigan, the Legislature has a responsibility to look at it,’ ” Richardville said.
He said the bill would be put into committee next week for discussions. Among those discussions is likely to be how the bill, if made into law, would square with federal bankruptcy law.
Laura Beth Bartell, a professor of bankruptcy law at Wayne State University Law School, cast doubt on whether a state law passed now could protect the DIA collection from a possible Orr-mandated sell-off. Federal law in general trumps state laws, and a state law that limits the powers that Orr could exercise under the federal bankruptcy code probably would not stand judicial review.
“I’m not sure what this would do” to protect the collection, Bartell said of the proposed legislation.
Richardville said he was unsure about the conflict between state and federal law, but said “we’re going to be in there like David and Goliath. David won, by the way. We’re going to articulate our position. I don’t know if there are other things that can be done. This is to get everyone to concentrate on the problem.
“We’re going to be in there fighting. It’s important to the state. Next week we’ll know a lot better.”
State officials, emergency manager Kevyn Orr and others insist there is no proposal on the table to use paintings or other DIA jewels to pay down Detroit’s $15 billion-$17 billion in bond debts and retiree pension and health care costs. But Orr has spoken with DIA leadership to alert them about the possibility of creditors seeking repayment of debts through sales of city-owned assets such as the museum and its artwork.
The issue also has raised questions about the propriety of placing so much emphasis on artworks when pressing quality-of-life issues like public safety and emergency response, vacant and abandoned homes, and streetlighting remain a daily struggle in the city.
Senate Bill 401 would amend a state law passed in 2010 to allow for a regional millage that voters approved to support DIA operations. It would add a key provision: “An art institute shall adhere to the code of ethics for museums published by the American Alliance of Museums or a successor organization.”
Kirk Profit, a former state representative and a lobbyist for the DIA, said that the bill would add the heft of state law to the DIA’s argument that professional ethics for museums preclude sales of art to satisfy debts, a move many fear would diminish the DIA’s stature as one of the nation’s leading museums and unleash a backlash among its biggest supporters and donors.
“We’re working very closely with everyone in state government to make sure we do the best we can to protect these assets,” Profit said Thursday at the Mackinac Policy Conference on Mackinac Island. “I think collectively we will succeed.”
News of the bill’s introduction came as state Treasurer Andy Dillon said discussion of potential DIA asset sales was premature. Dillon noted during a panel discussion Thursday that the city and Orr are still working to avoid a bankruptcy filing over the next 60-90 days and trying to arrange negotiated settlements with creditors, retirees and city unions.
“It’s putting the cart before the horse,” Dillon said. “What’s being discussed here is a legal possibility, not a hypothetical. We’re not there yet.”
Dillon noted that the DIA has hired legal counsel to advise it on protecting its public trust as a holder of the region’s art.
“I think it’s going to be a very complex legal issue,” Dillon said. “I just think it was way too soon for it to hit the press.”
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