84R8096 GRM-D

By: Springer H.B. No. 2786

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to incentives for the production of video games.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. The heading to Subchapter B, Chapter 485, Government Code, is amended to read as follows:

SUBCHAPTER B. VIDEO GAME [MOVING IMAGE] INDUSTRY INCENTIVE PROGRAM

SECTION 2. Section 485.021, Government Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 485.021. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:

(1) "In-state spending" means the amount of money spent in Texas by a production company during the production and completion of a video game [moving image] project, including the amount spent on wages to Texas residents. The term does not include wages described by Section 485.024(b).

(2) "Permanent job" means an employment position that has provided at least 1,820 hours of employment to an employee ["Moving image project" means a visual and sound production, including a film, television program, national or multistate commercial, educational or instructional video, or digital interactive media production. The term does not include a production that is obscene, as defined by Section 43.21, Penal Code].

(3) "Production company" means a [includes a film production company, television production company,] digital interactive media production company[, or film and television production company].

(4) "Texas resident" means an individual who has resided in Texas since the 120th day before the first day of production [principal photography] on a video game [moving image] project.

(5) "Underutilized and economically distressed area" includes any area of this state that:

(A) the office determines receives less than 15 percent of the total digital interactive media [film and television] production in this state during a fiscal year; or

(B) has a median household income that does not exceed 75 percent of the median state household income.

(6) "Video game project" means a digital interactive media production. The term does not include a production that is obscene, as defined by Section 43.21, Penal Code.

SECTION 3. The heading to Section 485.022, Government Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 485.022. VIDEO GAME [MOVING IMAGE] INDUSTRY INCENTIVE PROGRAM.

SECTION 4. Sections 485.022(a), (b), (e), and (f), Government Code, are amended to read as follows:

(a) The office shall administer a grant program for production companies that produce video game [moving image] projects in this state, to the extent that gifts, grants, donations, or other money, including appropriations, are made available to the office for that purpose.

(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 [485.021(4)] can be proved; and

(2) requirements for the submission, before production of a video game [moving image] project begins, of:

(A) an estimate of total in-state spending;

(B) the [shooting] script or story board, as applicable;

(C) the estimated number of jobs for cast and production crew during the production and completion of a video game [moving image] project; and

(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.

(e) The office is not required to act on any grant application and may deny an application because of inappropriate content or content that portrays Texas or Texans in a negative fashion, as determined by the office, in a video game [moving image] project. In determining whether to act on or deny a grant application, the office shall consider general standards of decency and respect for the diverse beliefs and values of the citizens of Texas.

(f) Before a grant is awarded under this subchapter, the office shall:

(1) require a copy of the final script; and

(2) determine if any substantial changes occurred during production on a video game [moving image] project to include content described by Subsection (e).

SECTION 5. 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 for a grant equal to 2.5 percent of the total amount of the production company's in-state spending for the video game project;

(B) $1 million in in-state spending for a digital interactive media production for a grant equal to 5 percent of the total amount of the production company's in-state spending for the video game project; or

(C) $3.5 million in in-state spending for a digital interactive media production for a grant equal to 10 percent of the total amount of the production company's in-state spending for the video game project;

(2) at least 70 percent of the production crew and[,] actors[, and extras] for a video game [moving image] project must be Texas residents unless the office determines and certifies in writing that a sufficient number of qualified crew and [,] actors[, and extras] are not available to the company at the time production [principal photography] begins;

(3) at least 60 percent of the video game [moving image] project must be produced [filmed] in Texas; and

(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 6. 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 may not 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 video game [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 video game [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 video game [moving image] project that exceed $1 million.

SECTION 7. 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 video game [moving image] project's production [filming] days in an underutilized and economically distressed area is eligible for an additional grant in an amount equal to 2.5 percent of the total amount of the production company's in-state spending for the video game [moving image] project.

SECTION 8. Sections 485.027(a) and (d), Government Code, are amended to read as follows:

(a) The office may contract with public junior colleges, as defined by Section 61.003, Education Code, or Texas nonprofit organizations to create a video game [moving image] industry personnel training program for developing and expanding the workforce for video game [moving image] projects in Texas.

(d) The office shall consult with the Texas Workforce Commission to collect and compile data on the status of the video game [moving image] industry employment base in Texas.

SECTION 9. Subchapter B, Chapter 485, Government Code, is amended by adding Sections 485.029 and 485.030 to read as follows:

Sec. 485.029. REPORT TO LEGISLATURE. (a) Before each regular session of the legislature, the comptroller shall report to the legislature and the governor, for the preceding two state fiscal years, the net number of permanent jobs in the industry. The report may be included in any other report made by the comptroller.

(b) The comptroller shall publish the report required by Subsection (a) on the comptroller's Internet website not later than the 20th day after the date the report is provided to the legislature and the governor.

Sec. 485.030. EXPIRATION. This subchapter expires August 31, 2019.

SECTION 10. Section 485.028, Government Code, is repealed.

SECTION 11. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.