Louisiana Film Incentive to Remain in State Budget, With $25 Million Cut

Louisiana has voted to preserve its tax incentive for film and TV production. But there’s a catch.

The state Senate voted 38-1 on Friday to lower the cap on the program from $150 million to $125 million. The House of Representatives agreed on a vote of 90-9, which means that the bill will now be sent to Gov. Jeff Landry for his signature. Landry, of course, is the conservative governor who signed legislation requiring that the Ten Commandments be displayed in public school classrooms.

Louisiana was the first state to adopt a film tax incentive in 1992, expanding the program a decade later. The program was capped in 2015 during a budget crisis. Georgia, which has no such cap, has since become a major production hub, with Marvel Studios, DC and tons of smaller productions shooting in the state.

Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson is developing a production facility, known as G-Unit Studios, in Shreveport, Louisiana, for instance. Recent movies to shoot in Louisiana include Netflix’s “Hit Man” and “Rebel Ridge” and A24’s “The Iron Claw.”

Film Louisiana, a group that advocates for production in the state, said that productions could support 10,000 jobs annually and generate $1 billion in economic activity.

Competition for regional production is getting heated, with Arizona voting in 2022 to create a $125 million film program (the same as the reduced Louisiana incentive) and New York increasing its incentive last year to $700 million. Meanwhile, in a bid to bring production back to Los Angeles (where activity has slowed down significantly), California Gov. Gavin Newsom called for an increase in the state’s incentive program to $750 million. Nevada also has a $100 million proposal it is considering, with Sony and Warner Bros. both looking to build rival production facilities.

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