| 3 | 3 | | By: Representatives Gambill of the 15 |
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| 4 | 4 | | th |
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| 5 | 5 | | , McDonald III of the 26 |
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| 6 | 6 | | th |
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| 7 | 7 | | , Wade of the 9 |
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| 8 | 8 | | th |
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| 9 | 9 | | , Hong of |
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| 10 | 10 | | the 103 |
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| 11 | 11 | | rd |
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| 12 | 12 | | , Blackmon of the 146 |
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| 13 | 13 | | th |
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| 14 | 14 | | , and others |
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| 15 | 15 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 16 | 16 | | AN ACT |
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| 17 | 17 | | To amend Code Section 48-7-40.26 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to |
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| 18 | 18 | | 1 |
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| 19 | 19 | | income tax credits for film, gaming, video, or digital production, so as to revise a definition;2 |
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| 20 | 20 | | to revise rules and regulations; to authorize certain fees; to require companies to pay court3 |
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| 21 | 21 | | costs if the denial of certification is upheld by a court on appeal; to provide for related4 |
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| 22 | 22 | | matters; to provide for an effective date and applicability; to repeal conflicting laws; and for5 |
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| 23 | 23 | | other purposes.6 |
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| 24 | 24 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:7 |
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| 25 | 25 | | SECTION 1.8 |
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| 26 | 26 | | Code Section 48-7-40.26 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to income tax9 |
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| 27 | 27 | | credits for film, gaming, video, or digital production, is amended by revising paragraph (11)10 |
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| 28 | 28 | | of subsection (b) as follows:11 |
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| 29 | 29 | | "(11) 'Qualified production activities' means the production of new film, video, or digital12 |
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| 30 | 30 | | projects produced in this state and approved by the Department of Economic13 |
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| 31 | 31 | | Development as state certified productions, including only the following: feature films,14 |
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| 32 | 32 | | series, pilots, movies for television, televised |
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| 33 | 33 | | commercial advertisements, music videos,15 |
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| 34 | 34 | | interactive entertainment, or prereleased interactive games. Such activities shall include16 |
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| 35 | 35 | | H. B. 475 |
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| 37 | 37 | | projects recorded in this state, in whole or in part, in either short or long form, animation |
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| 38 | 38 | | 17 |
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| 39 | 39 | | and music, fixed on a delivery system which includes without limitation film, videotape,18 |
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| 40 | 40 | | computer disc, laser disc, |
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| 41 | 41 | | and any element of the digital domain, from which the program19 |
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| 42 | 42 | | is viewed or reproduced, and which is intended for multimarket commercial distribution20 |
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| 43 | 43 | | via theaters, video on demand, direct to DVD, digital platforms designed for the21 |
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| 44 | 44 | | distribution of interactive games, licensing for exhibition by individual television stations,22 |
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| 45 | 45 | | groups of stations, networks, advertiser supported sites, paid subscription based23 |
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| 46 | 46 | | platforms, free advertiser supported streaming television (FAST) channels, cable24 |
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| 47 | 47 | | television stations, or public broadcasting stations. Such term shall not include the25 |
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| 48 | 48 | | coverage of news or athletic events, local interest programming, instructional videos,26 |
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| 49 | 49 | | corporate videos, any project that is not intended for multimarket commercial27 |
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| 50 | 50 | | distribution, user-generated content distributed exclusively via social media platforms,28 |
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| 51 | 51 | | or any project not shot, recorded, or originally created in Georgia."29 |
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| 52 | 52 | | SECTION 2.30 |
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| 53 | 53 | | Said Code section is further amended by revising subsection (i) as follows: 31 |
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| 54 | 54 | | "(i)(1) The Department of Economic Development shall determine through the32 |
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| 55 | 55 | | promulgation of rules and regulations what projects qualify for the tax credits authorized33 |
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| 56 | 56 | | under this Code section. Such rules and regulations shall include, but not be limited to,34 |
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| 57 | 57 | | certification application deadlines, qualified project content types and distribution35 |
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| 58 | 58 | | methods, certification application process and required supporting documentation, and36 |
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| 59 | 59 | | certification application fees. Certification shall be submitted to the state revenue37 |
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| 60 | 60 | | commissioner.38 |
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| 61 | 61 | | (2) The Department of Economic Development may charge reasonable fees associated39 |
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| 65 | | - | - 2 - 25 HB 475/AP |
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| 66 | | - | (3) If the Department of Economic Development prevails in the litigation of an appeal42 |
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| 67 | | - | on the denial of certification, the plaintiff production company shall pay all court costs43 |
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| 68 | | - | associated with such litigation."44 |
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| 69 | | - | SECTION 3.45 |
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| 70 | | - | This Act shall become effective on January 1, 2026, and shall be applicable to taxable years46 |
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| 71 | | - | beginning on or after such date.47 |
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| 72 | | - | SECTION 4.48 |
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| 73 | | - | All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.49 |
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| 64 | + | - 2 - 25 LC 59 0102 |
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| 65 | + | (3) If the Department of Economic Development prevails in the litigation of an appeal41 |
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| 66 | + | on the denial of certification, the plaintiff production company shall pay all court costs42 |
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| 67 | + | associated with such litigation."43 |
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| 68 | + | SECTION 3.44 |
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| 69 | + | This Act shall become effective on January 1, 2026, and shall be applicable to taxable years45 |
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| 70 | + | beginning on or after such date.46 |
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| 71 | + | SECTION 4.47 |
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| 72 | + | All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.48 |
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