The California State Senate on Tuesday approved a two year extension of a $100 million film and television tax credit, which could carry the annual subsidy through 2017.
The senate voted 32 to 3 in favor of the bill. The vote followed the State Assembly’s passage of a similar bill earlier this month. Both bodies must iron out differences between the two bills and then the final version is to go to Gov. Jerry Brown for his signature. The subsidy is currently set to expire in 2015.
The state began offering the $100 million in annual tax credits in 2009 to try to stem the outflow of productions to other states, such as New York, which offers more than $400 million in production subsidies annually. The California credit covers 20 to 25 percent of production costs for some movies and TV shows.
The bill’s passage Tuesday was cheered by a range of industry groups including talent union SAG-AFTRA, the Directors Guild of America and the Recording Musicians Association, which issued a joint statement along with other Hollywood groups representing stage employees and other workers.
“As a coalition of unions, guilds and associations representing hundreds of thousands of men and women whose livelihoods depend on the strength of the California entertainment industry, we applaud the passage of SB 1167 by the California State Senate,” the groups said in the statement.
