Two pieces of proposed legislation that would give a tax break to producers who shoot TV and/or film projects in California have been introduced in the State Assembly. A third bill designed to make coastal locations more accessible to producers is also being unveiled.
Assemblyman Scott Wildman (D-Los Angeles) has authored a measure that would establish a 10% tax credit for labor costs when producers maintain all production operations within California. Acknowledging that this language could prove problematic for projects that require some additional pickup filming elsewhere, Wildman said that the bill would probably be tinkered with further. The important point, he noted, is that the proposal represents a starting point to help address serious concern over runaway production, particularly loss of filming business to Canada which offers an extensive package of financial incentives. Canadas success can also largely be attributed to a favorable exchange rate, translating into significantly increased buying power for the U.S. dollar.
Meanwhile, Assemblywoman Sheila Kuehl (D-Santa Monica) has introed a piece of legislation that too would provide a refundable tax credit for a portion of labor costs on certain jobs produced in California. Full details of this proposal werent available as SHOOT went to press but in broad strokes, the legislation-Assembly Bill 484-will offer the tax credit to productions shot in California with budgets less than $5 million. This could equate to savings for spot producers as well as independent filmmakers and studios.
Kuehl chairs the Assembly Select Committee on Entertainment and the Arts which back in December held a day-long hearing in Hollywood on runaway production (SHOOT, 12/18/98, p. 7). During that hearing, testimony from producers as well as representatives from labor unions and industry support services identified runaway production as a problem which has had a significantly negative financial impact on them. According to testimony, the biggest erosion has come in the lower budgeted productions such as TV movies of the week. Kuehls office cites an estimate that Californias economy lost $1.2 billion due to runaway production between 96 and 97.
Kuehl is also pushing a second, earlier alluded-to bill that eases restrictions on temporary set construction in Californias coastal zones. Some testimony at the runaway hearing contended that its become difficult to shoot along certain portions of the states coast. Kuehl hopes to expedite the permit process-while protecting the appeal rights of residents-for projects seeking to film on coastal locations.
At press time, the Association of Independent Commercial Producers was assessing the three runaway bills. As earlier reported, concern over loss of filming to other countries is not confined to California. Nationally, the runaway production issue has prompted serious discussion about the need to establish a federal film commission in the U.S. (SHOOT, 2/26, p. 1).
