Texas Senate Approves Bill for $500 Million in Film Incentives
Last week, the Texas senate met to discuss a proposed bill aimed at incentivizing filmmaking within the state’s borders, effectively doubling the current funding for Texas filmmakers and eligible movies shot in-state. The bill ended up passing with a 23-8 vote, so now a whole new world of opportunities for filmmaking will be opening up to Texas.
Filming “Texas” in Georgia? Not for Long
There are tons of movies and TV shows out there either about Texas or that supposedly take place in Texas, but for years most of these productions have been shot primarily outside the Lone Star State in favor of places like Louisiana or Georgia or New Mexico because of their more attractive film incentive programs. This both robs the Texas economy of vital opportunities, and also paints an inauthentic portrait of the state and how it actually looks and comes across to outsiders who may be unfamiliar with Texas aside from what they see on TV. Well, thanks to Senate Bill 22 and the efforts of many well-known Texas actors, this may all begin to change.
A Blockbuster Budget to Bring Filmmaking Home
SB 22, which takes effect on September 1st of this year, will allocate $500 million to the Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program every two years until 2035. The half-a-billion-dollar investment rivals the various incentive programs of other states, and will finally put Texas in a place to compete for big-time TV and movie projects. This means that filmmakers shooting productions in or about Texas now have the opportunity to receive substantial grant-based funding – opportunities which were formerly unobtainable, or at least lacking in effect.
The push for this level of funding comes at the heels of a highly publicized movement called ‘True to Texas,’ which featured ad-campaigns from many prominent actors (including Mathew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson, Renee Zellweger, etc.) who expressed their desire to tell Texas stories in their hometowns, and needing support from the state to do so.
It is estimated that every dollar the state spends on film and TV will feed nearly five dollars back into the economy, resulting from expenses like lumber, food (restaurants), housing, etc. – thousands of jobs are made available to Texas citizens with the presence of film productions. 189,000 jobs have already been created in the state by the film industry, boosting the economy and directly benefiting Texas residents. From the tiny Texas towns to the larger metropolitan areas like San Antonio, whether tied directly to film production or not, the anticipated growth of the film industry will help support all branches of business in the state, and Texas can likely expect a substantial boom following the rollout of SB 22.
Lights, Camera, Local Paychecks
The future of Texas moviemaking is brighter than ever before, and the state is now well on its way to becoming a major player in the film industry – a development that will bring new life to the Texas economy and inspire authentic visual storytelling within the state’s borders.
Let’s ‘Keep Texas Films in Texas!’
