Latest news with #AB1138
Los Angeles Times
02-07-2025
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
California's film tax credit boost officially signed into law to lure back Hollywood jobs
Nine months ago, Gov. Gavin Newsom pledged to more than double the annual amount of funds allocated to California's film and television tax credit program. Flanked by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, legislative leaders and union representatives, Newsom said the state 'needed to make a statement and to do something that was meaningful' to stop productions from leaving the state for more lucrative incentives in other states and countries. Though Hollywood was born in California and the entertainment business became the state's signature industry, 'the world we invented is now competing against us,' he said at the time. On Wednesday, Newsom signed a bill that will increase the cap on California's film and TV tax credit program to $750 million, up from $330 million. Industry workers say the boost will help stimulate production that slowed due to the pandemic, the dual writers' and actors' strikes of 2023, a cutback in spending by studios and streamers and the Southern California wildfires earlier this year. 'We've got to step up our game,' Newsom said in a speech before he signed the bill. 'We put our feet up, took things for granted. We needed to do something more bold and significant.' The bill was passed by the state legislature last week and came after intense lobbying from Hollywood. Rebecca Rhine, Directors Guild of America executive and Entertainment Union Coalition president, credited Newsom for staying committed to the production incentive boost even after the wildfires in Southern California, federal funding cuts, the state's budget deficit and the deployment of the National Guard in Los Angeles. 'You understand that our industry is vital to the state's economy and cultural vibrancy, while also sustaining thousands of businesses and attracting visitors from around the world,' she said during the signing ceremony. 'Now, let's get people back to work.' Critics of the program and taxpayer advocates have said, however, that the tax credit is a corporate giveaway that doesn't generate as much economic effect as promised. California's increase also comes as states like Texas and New York have also ramped up their own film and TV tax credit programs. But the fight isn't over yet. Lawmakers and Hollywood industry leaders are gearing up for a vote Thursday in the legislature on a separate bill that would expand the provisions of the film tax credit program, which they say is key to making production more attractive in California and must pair with the increased program cap. That bill, AB 1138, would broaden the types of productions eligible to apply for the program, including animated films, shorts, series and certain large-scale competition shows. It would also increase the tax credit to as much as 35% of qualified expenditures for movies and TV series shot in the Greater Los Angeles area and up to 40% for productions shot outside the region. California currently provides a 20% to 25% tax credit to offset qualified production expenses, such as money spent on film crews and building sets. Production companies can apply the credit toward any tax liabilities they have in California. The bump to 35% puts California more in line with incentives offered by other states such as Georgia, which provides a 30% credit for productions. 'This bill is the second step,' Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur said during Wednesday's press conference. 'It's about maximizing economic impact, prioritizing equity and turning the tide on job loss.' Newsom also held out hope for the possibility of a federal film and TV tax incentive, which he had floated in May after President Trump called for tariffs on film produced overseas. 'We'd like to see [Trump] match the ambition that we're advancing here today in California with the ambition to keep filmmaking all across the United States, here in the United States,' Newsom said. 'I am hopeful that we, in the hands of partnership, continue to work with the administration.'
Los Angeles Times
27-06-2025
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
California lawmakers approve expanded $750 million film tax credit program
After weathering a pandemic, dual strikes and massive wildfires, Hollywood is finally getting a lifeline. California legislators voted Friday to more than double the amount allocated each year to the state's film and television tax credit program, raising that cap to $750 million from $330 million. The increase is a win for the studios, producers, unions and industry workers who have lobbied state legislators for months on the issue. Other states and countries have increasingly lured productions away from California with generous tax credits and incentive programs, leaving many in Hollywood without work for months. In interviews, town halls and legislative committee hearings, industry workers said that without state intervention, they feared Tinseltown would be hollowed out, similar to Detroit after the heyday of its auto industry. Gov. Gavin Newsom called to expand the annual tax credit program last year, saying at the time that 'the world we invented is now competing against us.' From there, state lawmakers looked to expand the provisions of the program. A separate bill currently going through the legislature would broaden the types of productions eligible to apply, including animated films, shorts and series and certain large-scale competition shows. It would also increase the tax credit to as much as 35% of qualified expenditures for movies and TV series shot in the greater Los Angeles area and up to 40% for productions shot outside the region. That bill, AB 1138, was unanimously approved Thursday by the state Senate Revenue and Tax Committee. It will be up for final votes next week. California currently provides a 20% to 25% tax credit to offset qualified production expenses, such as money spent on film crews and building sets. Production companies can apply the credit toward any tax liabilities they have in California. The bump to 35% puts California more in line with incentives offered by other states, such as Georgia, which provides a 30% credit for productions. Lawmakers and industry insiders have said the increased tax credit cap and the proposed criteria changes to the incentive program must both be approved to make California more competitive for filming.
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
California Lawmakers Agree to Newsom's Film and TV Tax Credit Expansion
California Lawmakers Agree to Newsom's Film and TV Tax Credit Expansion originally appeared on L.A. Mag. Lawmakers have agreed to expand the California Film and TV Tax Credit Program, more than doubling the funding for incentives from $330 million to $750 Gavin Newsom, Sen. Ben Allen, and Assemblymember Rick Zbur fought to keep the line item in the upcoming state budget. Gov. Newsom proposed the expansion last October, and pressure for the measure rose dramatically after the Los Angeles wildfires in January left many in the city desperate for relief.A vote is scheduled on Friday on a trailer bill to make the expansion official, according to are currently working on AB1138, a companion bill which would make funding available to more productions, including sitcoms, animation and large-scale competition shows. The bill would also increase the tax credit for each project from a base of 20% to 35%, with productions filming outside of Los Angeles eligible for up to 40%.A 2% bonus will await productions that hire up to four trainees from a jobs program for 'traditionally underserved' communities. The bill's language protects longtime union members, however, requiring that trainees not displace experienced to Deadline, filmmakers Patty Jenkins, Cord Jefferson and Jonathan Nolan met with legislators in Sacramento to advocate for the tax credit's said that previously, many lawmakers at the state capital had a 'misunderstanding' of the various workers who benefit from incentives. 'The tax credits were always seen as a giveaway to fat cats and bigwigs,' Jenkins said. 'But they're realizing that it's much bigger than that. It's an entire industry of people at every level, the vast majority of which are not the top 1%.'Jenkins also expressed support for tentpole feature productions that remain in California to receive a federal tax credit. Other states remain fierce competitors, including New York, which recently increased its film and television tax credits to $800 million per to the bill also require producers to report the veteran status and ZIP codes of their employees, along with race, ethnicity and gender. AB1138 is expected to be approved by July 4 and will take effect measure won't be the only economic reprieve for the state's declining industry. On Monday, the California Film Commission awarded $96 million in tax incentives to 48 films, 43 of which are independent projects and many working with budgets no greater than $10 million. This story was originally reported by L.A. Mag on Jun 25, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Hollywood Incentives Bill Passes the CA State Assembly Without $750 Million Specified, For Now
A bill set to dramatically expand California's incentives for film and television production companies to shoot in-state has passed the California State Assembly, albeit without a mention of the $750 million program cap promised by Gov. Gavin Newsom. Legislators voted 73 to one on Tuesday to pass AB 1138 and send it to the Senate, with Assemblymember Carl DeMaio of San Diego representing the sole 'no' vote. The vote comes after the state Senate passed a similar bill focused on the state's entertainment tax credit program earlier in the day, with the governor's promised cash infusion absent from the amended legislation. More from The Hollywood Reporter Where Did the $750 Million Go? Hollywood Incentive Bill Passes CA Senate Without Newsom's Pledge The 13 Commandments of Being a Background Actor After Strike Threat, Video Game Workers and Microsoft-Owned ZeniMax Media Reach Tentative Agreement The move adds momentum to union- and studio-backed attempts to provide a shot in the arm to filming in California even as the state faces significant budget deficit concerns. Newsom has pledged support to one of California's signature industries even while existing or proposed state services are likely to be cut or pulled back as a result of the budget situation. That's necessary, argued the bill's advocates on Tuesday. 'California's iconic film and television industry is in crisis,' said bill co-author Assemblymember Rick Zbur, who represents an area in L.A. stretching from Hollywood to Santa Monica, before the vote. 'The hardworking men and women and the small businesses that have built an industry that is intrinsic to California's identity are experiencing depression-level-eras of unemployment and loss of business as our iconic business is being lured away to other states and other countries with better credit programs.' Other champions of the bill, like Assemblymember Tom Lackey, Assemblymember Mike Gibson and Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva, emphasized that the proposed legislation was a jobs bill, not a handout to Hollywood. 'What's happened is we got a little arrogant on this film situation and we thought we're all that and a bag of chips, and you know what, the other states decided they would compete with us,' said Lackey, who represents the High Desert. 'And not only that they would compete with us, but they would take this industry.' He said the legislation wouldn't save Hollywood, but it was an important step to make California more competitive with regard to incentives programs in other states and countries. But the bill's one critic in Tuesday's session, DeMaio, disagreed, framing the proposed legislation as an ineffective solution that essentially sought to reward influential political allies in Hollywood. 'We should make California prosperous for all and it's not by giving out the gifts of tax credits to those that have influence, those that might make the best case to the politicians in Sacramento but rather policies that will flatten the cost curve,' he said. DeMaio singled out California's heavily unionized Hollywood workforce and regulations as the reasons why productions fled the state, not the tax credit. 'Nothing in this bill deals with labor costs, nothing deals with the regulatory burden,' he said. DeMaio added that the bill is only attempting to 'soften the blow of some of those bad policies.' The amended bill removes mention of Newsom's pledge to increase the film and television incentives cap from $330 million to $750 million annually, as did its companion bill in the state Senate. Advocates say that figure doesn't need to be in the bills as long as Newsom's budget is passed. The $750 million figure survived in Newsom's revised budget, unveiled in May, even as providing Medi-Cal benefits to undocumented immigrants and Medi-Cal coverage for weight-loss drugs like Ozempic did not. The amended bill also expands the tax credit's program for training workers from historically underrepresented communities to work in the film and television business by opening up the program to additional nonprofits. In a sign that none of this is a done deal and the situation remains fluid, industry unions and the grassroots group Stay in L.A. have encouraged their members to continue writing to and calling their state representatives to support the bills. 'This is one of the many steps we have ahead of us, a coalition of entertainment unions told members after the Assembly and Senate bills passed on Tuesday. Best of The Hollywood Reporter How the Warner Brothers Got Their Film Business Started Meet the World Builders: Hollywood's Top Physical Production Executives of 2023 Men in Blazers, Hollywood's Favorite Soccer Podcast, Aims for a Global Empire
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
California Film Credit Expansion in Flux as Lawmakers Delete References to $750 Million
The expansion of the California film and TV tax credit, which industry stakeholders argue is key to protecting jobs in the state, hit a snag on Friday, as lawmakers deleted references in bill language to raising the program cap to $750 million. Gov. Gavin Newsom vowed last fall to increase the program from $330 million to $750 million. Two bills, AB 1138 and SB 630, have been working their way through the legislative process to enact that increase and other changes to make the program more attractive to producers. More from Variety California Gov. Gavin Newsom Proposes $7.5 Billion Federal Film Incentive After Trump Floats Tariffs Trump Plans to Meet With Film Industry to Discuss Tariffs: 'I Want to Make Sure They're Happy' and 'I'm Not Looking to Hurt' Them Animation Guild Seeks Enhanced California Subsidy to Combat Outsourcing On Friday, the bills passed through the appropriations committees in the Assembly and Senate, but the references to $750 million were removed. That dollar figure could be added back in later in the budget process, but for now it is not guaranteed. 'We're certainly disappointed in this direction, and it's something we are going to push back against as budget negotiations begin to heat up,' said Sen. Ben Allen, who authored the Senate version of the bill. 'We have been watching the decline of this critical industry in real time over recent years, and we cannot continue to sit on the sidelines. This program needs to be modernized if we want to retain California as the global hub of entertainment.' The removal of the dollar figure could turn out to be a hiccup in the process. Industry supporters have been confident that the expansion will be approved. The changes were made as the committees voted on hundreds of bills, which must be passed out of the 'suspense file' to make it to the floor. Newsom affirmed support for the $750 million increase just last week, after issuing a revised budget proposal to the Legislature. 'We need to step things up,' he said. The Legislature must pass a budget by June 15, though some funding items may be addressed later than that through trailer bills. Dozens of entertainment union representatives have attended a series of hearings in Sacramento this spring to push for the expansion. In testimony before Assembly and Senate committees, they have argued that the state must do more to compete with attractive incentive programs in other states and abroad. As currently written, the legislation would increase the amount of the tax credit from 20% of qualified expenses to 35%. That would increase to 40% for productions outside of the Los Angeles area, or in economically depressed areas of Los Angeles. The program would also expand to include animated films and TV shows, sitcoms and large-scale competition shows. Additional amendments are expected to add eligibility for music scoring. Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Emmy Predictions: Talk/Scripted Variety Series - The Variety Categories Are Still a Mess; Netflix, Dropout, and 'Hot Ones' Stir Up Buzz Oscars Predictions 2026: 'Sinners' Becomes Early Contender Ahead of Cannes Film Festival
