Gale Encyclopedia of American Law Volume 1 P40 fully illuminates today's leading cases, major statutes, legal terms and concepts, notable persons involved with the law, important documents and more. Legal issues are fully discussed in easy-to-understand language, including such high-profile topics as the Americans with Disabilities Act, capital punishment, domestic violence, gay and lesbian rights, physician-assisted suicide and thousands more. | 378 ART LAW among general audiences. The NEH provides support through outright grants matching grants and a combination of the two. Schools higher education institutions libraries museums historical organizations professional associations other cultural institutions and individuals are eligible to apply for NEH grants. One avenue members of Congress use to support the arts is the Congressional Arts Caucus. This bipartisan group composed of nearly 250 members of Congress who recognize and support the arts acts as an information clearinghouse on arts issues. The caucus reports on legislation affecting artists and arts institutions both commercial and nonprofit. It helps members of Congress prepare testimony and speeches on the arts. The government also provides indirect aid designed to create a heightened public awareness of art and to provide artists with new outlets for their work. Among the effective means of indirect aid are the regulations adopted by many state and municipal governments which require a percentage of the cost of building new government structures to be spent on art. Federal state and local governments indirectly promote a heightened public awareness of the arts in the community through zoning. Zoning laws divide a city into districts and set forth the types of structural and architectural designs of buildings in those districts and the uses that buildings may serve. Some zoning regulations and laws are designed to preserve the aesthetic features or values of an area. As of 2003 most state courts allowed the use of zoning laws for solely aesthetic purposes. These laws may for example restrict the placement of billboards or television satellite dishes or may require that junkyards be screened or fenced. State and local governments have become involved in improving the appearance of publicly funded buildings or any building built on public land by requiring that new building designs and locations be approved by the local government. Local control .
