California Leaders Pull $5 Million Film Tax Credit Fix as August 31 Deadline Nears
Updated
Updated · Deadline · Aug 20
California Leaders Pull $5 Million Film Tax Credit Fix as August 31 Deadline Nears
2 articles · Updated · Deadline · Aug 20
Summary
A Thursday deal to exempt independent productions and some studio or streamer projects from SB 122’s $5 million tax-credit cap was scrapped after California legislative leadership told Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur it was taking a “different approach.”
SB 122, enacted in June, threatens the state’s $750 million film and TV incentive program by 2030, intensifying alarm in an industry that has lost about 50,000 jobs in four years amid production flight from Los Angeles.
Zbur said talks with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office, legislative leaders and Senate partners are continuing and that a solution could still emerge before the legislative session ends on August 31.
A separate bill, AB 2319, would create a 35% post-production tax credit and is heading toward a Senate vote next week, but its first-year incentive pool has been cut to about $35 million from earlier talk of $100 million.
Even if AB 2319 passes, lawmakers still have no funding attached in California’s $352 billion budget, leaving the broader rescue of Hollywood jobs likely to spill into next year’s negotiations.