SACRAMENTO—In sharp contrast to budget shortfalls in various states and municipalities translating into either significantly reduced funding for—or the outright elimination of—film commissions and lensing incentives, the Film California First (FCF) anti-runaway program, overseen and administered by the California Film Commission (CFC), has been expanded.
Last week (9/19) Gov. Gray Davis (D-CA) signed into law Senate Bill 1356, which enables FCF to reimburse to the production community those costs incurred for local police services as they relate to the filming of qualified projects on public property in California. This reimbursement of expenditures for law enforcement personnel is slated to take effect on Oct. 1. The FCF already rebates a wide variety of expenses associated with filming on local, state and federal public property in California-including fire safety, transportation, and other types of film monitoring by public employees.
SHOOT first reported on the likely enactment of SB 1356—sponsored by Sen. Kevin Murray (D-Los Angeles)—when the $10 million appropriation for the overall FCF program was retained in the State of California’s 2002-’03 fiscal year budget (SHOOT, 9/13, p. 1). At that time, just the fact that the FCF had survived—despite a state budget deficit of some $23 billion—was welcome news to the commercial production community, which has offered favorable feedback regarding the anti-runaway program over the past couple of years. Indeed, an increasing number of spot producers has plugged into FCF incentives.
But beyond benefiting from the continuation of the FCF program, producers of commercials, TV programs and theatrical features will soon gain an added incentive. They will be eligible for reimbursement of up to $750 a day for costs associated with film monitoring by local law enforcement. The maximum reimbursement cap for use of local police is $3,000 per production.
"We are extremely pleased that Governor Davis has signed SB 1356 into law," stated Steve Caplan, senior VP-external affairs for the Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP). "Film California First has provided a real boost to the commercial production industry. By expanding this program, the state is sending a strong message to the production industry that it is committed to increasing film production and economic development."
CFC director Karen Constine observed that "the new provisions for local police costs are especially good news for smaller budgeted commercials, television and independent feature films. Expansion of Film California First means bigger benefits for filmmakers, who can use these dollars for future productions in California."
Updated guidelines for the FCF program, including the reimbursement of local police costs with caps, will soon be available on the CFC’s Web site (www.film.ca.gov).
FCF OVERVIEW
Reimbursable costs for qualified productions under the FCF program include: State employee costs encompassing such entities as the California Highway Patrol, state parks (for rangers), and the University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) systems.
? Federal employee costs.
? Federal, state, UC and CSU film permits and public-property use fees.
? Local public entity costs for fire, safety and police personnel.
? Local property use fees.
Costs for rental equipment mandated and owned by a public agency. Last year, the cap on public equipment needed for a project increased from $250 to $500-and this is per piece of equipment. Previously the cap was on all the equipment collectively required by each public agency for a shoot.
Last year also saw an increase in reimbursement caps for public properties. The film permit fee cap went up, from $500 to $1,000. The cap for public location fees rose from $500 to $1,500. (There continues to be no cap on reimbursement of state and federal employee costs.)
And the FCF also allows reimbursements for multiple film shoots by the same production company on the same day, per a revision that went into effect last year. This expanded the single per day/per public agency reimbursement, benefiting companies that shoot at two or more locations daily—as is common in commercials—and/or that have first- and second-unit lensing going on during a single day.
(For all costs, the total maximum reimbursement for any California film project using FCF is $300,000.)
STIMULUS
"Film California First has been extremely successful in stimulating our economy on many levels," said Gov. Davis in a released statement. "Because of its multiple benefits to filmmakers, the program has worked as a great incentive to keep jobs in California.
The unique features of Film California First have succeeded in attracting and retaining a wide range of film, television and commercial productions."
FCF isn’t the only anti-runaway incentive program overseen by the CFC. The state film commission also administers the State Theatrical Arts Resources (STAR) partnership.
The STAR system makes designated state-owned and controlled surplus property and unused real estate assets available to producers for filming at no charge or for a nominal fee (SHOOT, 11/23/01, p. 1).
Behind-the-scenes industry lobbying on behalf of FCF, SB 1356 and STAR has proven to be more fruitful than higher profile efforts on the anti-runaway front. For example, earlier this month the California Senate Appropriations Committee killed Assembly Bill 2747 (AB 2747), a measure that would have established a wage-based tax credit in the state, effective July 2004 (SHOOT, 9/6, p. 22, and 9/13, p. 1). Though regarded in some circles as a long shot to gain ultimate passage, AB 2747 nonetheless received significant investments in time and resources from the Directors Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild.
