CHICAGO - The Michigan Senate delayed until Tuesday the vote on a bill to protect the Detroit Institute of Arts’ prestigious art collection from Detroit’s fiscal problems .
The Senate had been expected to take up the measure Wednesday, but majority leader Randy Richardville, R-Monroe, ended up holding the bill amid questions from fellow Republicans.
“Some of our members who are not from the tri-county [Detroit] region had some questions about the museum itself, and the collection,” said Republican caucus spokeswoman Amber McCann. “We decided to take some time to answer their questions.”
The measure had been on a fast track to move through the Legislature. It sailed through the General Operations Committee Tuesday.
Richardvillecrafted and introduced the legislation last week, just days after Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr sparked a controversy by suggesting the DIA’s collection could be used to cover the cash-strapped city’s debt.
Senate Bill 401 would prohibit the use of the DIA or any Michigan museum’s collection for collateral or selling the art for any other reason than buying new art. It would also prohibit the facility from being leased or sold unless a sale were connected to the relocation of the art collection to a comparable facility in the city.
Orr also warned that the collection could be vulnerable to creditors in a Chapter 9 bankruptcy.
The city owns the museum.
Senate Democrats, who are in the minority, are also ambivalent about the bill, said Democratic caucus spokesman Alex Rossman.
“We support the concept of the bill, as we want to see the art protected as much as anybody,” Rossman said. “Our main concerns were over the fact that the Senate Republicans are stepping in trying to play superhero with the DIA because that resonates with their constituents,” he said. “We think the concept should apply to all of the city’s other assets as well.”
The DIA collection spans 60,000 pieces. Works include one of the original casts of Rodin’s The Thinker, as well as pieces by Rembrandt, Caravaggio, Picasso, and Van Gogh. It also houses Diego Rivera’s mural “Detroit Industry.”
Bankruptcy attorneys weighing in on the controversy have told the Bond Buyer that it would be difficult but not impossible for either the city or its creditors to get their hands on the asset. It hinges on several factors, including the details of the public trust that rules the DIA, the contracts securing the art, the ability of the city to establish ownership, and the ability of creditors to force a sale outside of a bankruptcy court. Chapter 9 does not allow for the liquidation of assets.
