Sacramento, CA (September 1, 2026)—California’s Senate and Assembly have passed a bill that offers tax incentives designed to attract film and TV post production work to the state. It now goes to Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk for his signature.
The new measure, which passed on a 65-2 vote on Sunday, Aug. 30, adds standalone tax credits for post work handled in California in a bid to halt the decline in the volume of projects coming to the state. The new bill is over and above AB 1138, or Tax Credit Program 4.0, which previously expanded tax incentives for film and TV projects that shoot in the state. AB 2319, the California Postproduction Tax Credit, extends incentives to projects shot outside the state or that don’t receive production tax credits in California.
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Introduced by California Assemblymember Nick Schultz, the bill originally called for the legislation to be funded to the tune of $100 million for picture editing, sound editing and mixing, Foley recording, ADR, music editing, music composition and score recording, VFX, color correction and mastering work completed in the state. However, as passed, the fund would start with just $10 million from California’s tight budget—assuming Gov. Newsom signs the bill into law before the end of September.
The Hollywood Reporter quotes Schultz as saying: “We understand it’s a harsh economic climate, the state has limited re now with everything we’re encountering from the federal administration. So while $10 million may not be enough, it is a good starting point, it would prop up and start the program.”
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The bill creates a standalone tax credit that would take effect on or after January 1, 2027. It offers a 35% base credit on qualified California post production expenses for projects filmed outside the state or that did not qualify for the Tax Credit 4.0 program, which is administered by the California Film Commission. The new program could potentially boost tax credits up to 50%, including uplifts for out-of-zone post production (5%), out-of-zone California resident labor (10%) and qualified music scoring expenditures (15%).
AB 2319 was supported by Hollywood’s craft unions and guilds, who have been losing post production work and membership as projects have gone to other states and countries that offer their own tax incentives. In a statement, the Motion Picture Editors Guild wrote that passing AB 2319 “sends a clear signal California will remain the heart of the entertainment industry and that skilled, middle-class, union post-production jobs are valued in our state’s economy.”
