Hartford - Representatives of Mystic Aquarium, the Garde Arts Center and a dozen other state cultural and tourism attractions voiced concerns Wednesday night about the Malloy administration's plan to replace their state grants with a new competitive system.

More than $11 million in culture and tourism funding is gone in Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's budget adjustment plan for the next fiscal year starting July 1. That includes the $620,112 once tagged for the aquarium and the $300,000 for the Garde.

But state officials say they are not really cutting the money for these groups, only converting to a new method for funding the state's arts, cultural and sporting-related organizations. Under Malloy's plan, organizations will compete for $14 million in the Department of Economic and Community Development's budget. Exactly how the system will work is still being determined.

But the funding uncertainty is making many organizations nervous.

Stephen Coan, president and chief executive officer of the Sea Research Foundation, which operates Mystic Aquarium, asked members of the General Assembly's budget-writing committee to restore the aquarium's full $620,112 stipend.

He later told The Day that it is unclear how the aquarium's stipend would fare under the new competitive system. Last month, the state reduced the stipend by $31,000 to help reduce a state budget deficit.

Coan said the aquarium uses the state money for its marketing efforts, which attract hundreds of thousands of visitors a year and bolster the regional economy.

The aquarium also provides a valuable education experience for schoolchildren from throughout the state, he said.

"This funding directly supports the marketing of the institution and the marketing of greater Mystic," Coan said at the hearing. "The funding returns dividends to the state in economic impact."

Steve Sigel, the Garde's executive director, asked legislators to consider the important role theaters and arts groups play in their respective cities and towns. For New London, the Garde provides "a deeply rooted sense of place" for residents.

"The state support has allowed the Garde to really sustain our community," Sigel said.

State Rep. Ernest Hewett, D-New London, said he wholeheartedly agrees.

"I can't tell you what the Garde has done for the city of New London," Hewett said.

The committee's public hearing was still under way at press time.

j.reindl@theday.com