Lawmakers decided to more than triple the size of California’s film and TV tax credits last year to stop the trend of production companies moving to other states and countries, and California Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles) said it is working.

California Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon discussed film and television tax incentives on July 10 at a Hollywood Chamber of Commerce luncheon. (Photo by Gregory Cornfield)

The state’s expanded incentives program is beginning to bring crews back to Hollywood, de Leon told the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce during a luncheon on July 10 at Paramount Pictures.

Assembly Bill 1839 eliminated budget caps for studio and independent films, as well as a lottery system that was used to determine which companies received incentives. The new system awards credits based on how many jobs a company or project creates.

De Leon touted the law he helped pass last year that allows more types of projects to qualify for incentives. The law enables producers to offset as much as 25 percent of their costs.

Moviemakers started coming to California in the early 1900s when they were lured by the beautiful landscape and weather, de Leon said, but many productions in the past few years have been leaving Hollywood to shoot elsewhere.

“Workers were suffering from separated families when productions started shooting in states like Georgia, Louisiana, South Carolina and elsewhere,” he said. “I’m very, very happy to say that we have started to reverse that trend here in Hollywood. We are showing the world, once again, that there is no better place to film than right here in Hollywood, California. The tax credit is working and it will maintain our status as the entertainment capital of the world.”

De Leon said more applications will be coming in to film in California.

“And again, we’re going to allocate a significant amount of money to make sure we keep the production right here in the state of California,” he said. “I’m sure New Orleans is a wonderful city, but children want to see their mothers and fathers on a daily [basis].”

De Leon gave kudos to the chamber by saying it helped revitalize Hollywood into the city it is today, and said the entertainment industry is a part of Hollywood’s identity.