NBLC Supports The Passage of the California Film and Television Tax Credit Program

NBLC supports the passage of AB 1839, which would extend, expand and restructure the California Film and Television Tax Credit Program.  This legislation would support California’s hometown, homegrown, 100 plus-years-old motion picture production industry. The North Bay has benefited from this industry and, if AB 1839 passes, will benefit in the future.  This sector is a significant economic and job creation engine for our state and the cornerstone of California’s leading export-oriented entertainment industry cluster, directly responsible for more than 190,000 well-paying middle class jobs in California.

AB 1839 would invest in California’s highly lucrative film and television production industry, making the entire state more competitive against other states and countries in the escalating competition to attract, retain and grow more of the highly coveted “below-the-line” motion picture and television production jobs (e.g., grips, costume designers, graphic artists, technical engineers, hair stylists), as well as all the numerous indirect (e.g., trucking, food services, equipment rentals) and induced jobs that are also supported by this industry.

Over the last decade, “runaway film” has unfortunately become the rule, not the exception, in California as more and more states and countries have successfully lured our valuable film and television productions and jobs away in what can best be described as a film incentive “arms race.” In 2009, California enacted a modest tax credit program that helped ease runaway production, encourage in-state production, and retain a portion of the motion picture and television production sector’s extremely sizeable direct, indirect and induced economic, job and fiscal impacts.  With an average 11 percent positive return to local and state governments, there is no cost to state and local governments in terms of spending tax expenditures. This program is actually a smart business move (the public is earning income on its investment), a good investment in job creation, and wise public policy.

AB 1839 addresses the deficiencies in the current program and has received widespread bi-partisan support.   It passed the State Assembly on a unanimous 76-0 vote. The measure now moves to the State Senate where it will be heard on June 25^th in the Senate Committee on Governance and Finance.  For more information on the effort and to find out how you can help maximize the positive fiscal, job and economic returns of AB 1839, visit www.filmworksca.com.