| |
| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to incentives for the moving image industry in this state. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Section 485.021(1), Government Code, is amended |
|
|
to read as follows: |
|
|
(1) "In-state spending" means the amount of money |
|
|
spent in Texas by a production company during the production and |
|
|
completion of a moving image project, including the amount spent on |
|
|
wages [to Texas residents]. The term does not include wages |
|
|
described by Section 485.024(b). |
|
|
SECTION 2. Section 485.022(b), Government Code, is amended |
|
|
to read as follows: |
|
|
(b) The office shall develop a procedure for the submission |
|
|
of grant applications and the awarding of grants under this |
|
|
subchapter. The procedure must include provisions relating to[: |
|
|
[(1) methods by which an individual's Texas residency |
|
|
as described by Section 485.021(4) can be proved; and |
|
|
[(2)] requirements for the submission, before |
|
|
production of a moving image project begins, of: |
|
|
(1) [(A)] an estimate of total in-state spending; |
|
|
(2) [(B)] the shooting script or story board, as |
|
|
applicable; |
|
|
(3) [(C)] the estimated number of jobs for cast and |
|
|
production crew during the production and completion of a moving |
|
|
image project; and |
|
|
(4) [(D)] any other information considered useful and |
|
|
necessary by the office for an adequate and accurate analysis of a |
|
|
production company's in-state spending. |
|
|
SECTION 3. Section 485.023, Government Code, is amended to |
|
|
read as follows: |
|
|
Sec. 485.023. QUALIFICATION. To qualify for a grant under |
|
|
this subchapter: |
|
|
(1) a production company must have spent a minimum of: |
|
|
(A) $250,000 in in-state spending for a film or |
|
|
television program; or |
|
|
(B) $100,000 in in-state spending for a |
|
|
commercial or series of commercials, an educational or |
|
|
instructional video or series of educational or instructional |
|
|
videos, or a digital interactive media production; |
|
|
(2) [at least 70 percent of the production crew, |
|
|
actors, and extras for a moving image project must be Texas |
|
|
residents unless the office determines and certifies in writing |
|
|
that a sufficient number of qualified crew, actors, and extras are |
|
|
not available to the company at the time principal photography |
|
|
begins; |
|
|
[(3)] at least 60 percent of the moving image project |
|
|
must be filmed in Texas; and |
|
|
(3) [(4)] a production company must submit to the |
|
|
office an expended budget, in a format prescribed by the office, |
|
|
that reflects all in-state spending and includes all receipts, |
|
|
invoices, pay orders, and other documentation considered necessary |
|
|
by the office to accurately determine the amount of a production |
|
|
company's in-state spending that has occurred. |
|
|
SECTION 4. Sections 485.024(a) and (b), Government Code, |
|
|
are amended to read as follows: |
|
|
(a) Except as provided by Section 485.025, a grant under |
|
|
this subchapter for a moving image project may not be less than 20 |
|
|
percent of the total amount of the production company's in-state |
|
|
spending on the project [exceed the amount established by office |
|
|
rule]. The office shall adopt rules prescribing the method the |
|
|
office will use to calculate the amount of a grant under this |
|
|
subsection. The office shall publish a written summary of the |
|
|
method for determining grants before awarding a grant under this |
|
|
section. The method must consider at a minimum: |
|
|
(1) the current and likely future effect a moving |
|
|
image project will have on employment, tourism, and economic |
|
|
activity in this state; and |
|
|
(2) the amount of a production company's in-state |
|
|
spending for a moving image project. |
|
|
(b) In calculating a grant amount under Section 485.025 or |
|
|
the amount of in-state spending for purposes of rules adopted under |
|
|
Subsection (a), the office may not include wages of persons, |
|
|
including an actor or director, employed in the production of a |
|
|
moving image project that exceed $500,000 [$1 million]. |
|
|
SECTION 5. Section 485.025, Government Code, is amended to |
|
|
read as follows: |
|
|
Sec. 485.025. ADDITIONAL GRANT FOR UNDERUTILIZED AND |
|
|
ECONOMICALLY DISTRESSED AREAS. In addition to the grant calculated |
|
|
under Section 485.024, a production company that spends at least 25 |
|
|
percent of a moving image project's filming days in an |
|
|
underutilized and economically distressed area is eligible for an |
|
|
additional grant in an amount equal to 10 [2.5] percent of the total |
|
|
amount of the production company's in-state spending for the moving |
|
|
image project. |
|
|
SECTION 6. Section 485.021(4), Government Code, is |
|
|
repealed. |
|
|
SECTION 7. The changes in law made by this Act to Chapter |
|
|
485, Government Code, apply only to a grant awarded on or after the |
|
|
effective date of this Act. A grant awarded before the effective |
|
|
date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the |
|
|
award was made, and the former law is continued in effect for that |
|
|
purpose. |
|
|
SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |