Local officials were celebrating Saturday after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill that creates a first-of-its kind tax credit to support entertainment workers in all areas of post-production, including picture editorial, sound, music, visual effects and finishing.
Newsom signed the bill at the Television Academy in North Hollywood on Friday.
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“This is a big victory in our fight to save California’s entertainment industry, and we’re just getting started,” said Assemblyman Nick Schultz, D-Burbank, who authored Assembly Bill 2319 and lobbied along with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and other elected officials for Newsom to sign it. “This program will literally save jobs here in Los Angeles and across the state, and I’m grateful for Governor Newsom’s support. When California competes, we all win.”
The bill provides a 35% to 50% credit on qualified expenses specific to post-production in California. The state already has a film and TV tax credit program that covers post-production, but only if 75% of the filming or the overall budget is spent in the state. The new credit does not require productions to film in the state.
Schultz initially proposed a $100 million for the credit, but legislators ultimately decided to start with $10 million.
The bill goes into effect on Jan. 1.
California also recently expanded its film and TV tax credit program from $330 million to $750 million through June 30, 2030.
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“California is the nation’s entertainment capital. It is the home of storytellers, dreamers, artists, entrepreneurs, and creators who define culture for the rest of the world,” Newsom said in a statement. “This legislation protects the extraordinary people who make this industry possible and makes it unmistakably clear: California is still the future of film and television. We have the talent. We have the infrastructure. We have the creative community. And we have an ecosystem that simply cannot be replicated anywhere else.”
Newsom’s office said that since the expansion of the film and TV tax credit program, he has announced 170 projects that together are expected to bring more than $6.6 billion in economic activity and nearly 35,000 cast and crew jobs across California.
The governor also visited the Burbank set of HBO Max’s Emmy-winning drama “The Pitt” on Friday “to see the impact this program is having,” according to his office.
