LA County Supervisors Back Newsom’s Expanded Film and TV Tax Credit

California Governor Gavin Newsom via Facebook

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors took an official stance Wednesday in support of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposal to expand the California Film & Television Tax Credit Program to $750 million.

On Oct. 27, Newsom unveiled a proposal to more than double the annual allocation from its current $330 million. If approved, the proposal would take effect in July 2025.

At Wednesday’s meeting, the board approved a motion by Supervisors Kathryn Barger and Lindsey Horvath that called the film, television and digital media industry crucial to the local economy.

The motion noted that the industry has faced several challenges in recent years ranging from the coronavirus pandemic to the duel actors and writers strikes of 2023. Barger stressed that production of film and television content affects many small businesses that support the entertainment industry, and Horvath added that the industry was a “major cultural and economic driver” in the region.

“According to FilmLA’s 2023 Scripted Content Study, production in Greater Los Angeles fell by 19.7% in 2023 compared to the previous year,” said Barger, adding that productions were moving to alternative locations with better incentives in the United Kingdom, Ontario, New York, Georgia and other places.

The motion cites data from the 2024 Otis Report on the Creative Economy, which said that 27% of the national domestic film and television workforce resided in greater Los Angeles. The report also cited an 8% reduction in California’s creative workers by 70,840 people in 2023.

Barger noted that the California Film & Television Tax Credit Program launched in 2009, has generated over $26 billion in economic activity and supported more than 197,000 cast and crew jobs across the state.

In September, the board directed the Department of Economic Opportunity to explore ways to incentivize filming in the county through options including removing regulatory and zoning hurdles, potential tax reductions and fee waivers.