Governor Pat McCory has signed Senate Bill 744 which creates a film production grant program in North Carolina, effective January 1, 2015. Highlights of the program are as follows (info from Cast & Crew Entertainment Services, LLC):
–Establishes a grant of up to 25% on qualifying production expenditures;
–Requires a minimum spend of $5 million for feature films or $250,000 for TV series or commercials;
–Establishes a per project cap of $5 million for feature films and TV series or $250,000 for commercials;
–Establishes a cap of $10 million for the program;
—Qualifies the first $1 million of each individual’s salary or wages;
–Requires a CPA audit;
–Requires a project to provide screen credit to North Carolina in the form of a statement, logo and acknowledgment; and,
–Gives priority to productions that are reasonably anticipated to maximize the benefit to North Carolina.