Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB873 Compare Versions

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1	1	81R5432 YDB-F
2	2	By: Dukes H.B. No. 873
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to incentives for the film, television, video, and digital
8	8	interactive media production industries.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 485.021(2), Government Code, is amended
11	11	to read as follows:
12	12	(2) "Moving image project" means a visual and sound
13	13	production, including a film, television program, national or
14	14	multistate commercial, educational or instructional video, or
15	15	digital interactive media production. The term does not include a
16	16	production that is obscene, as defined by Section 43.21, Penal
17	17	Code.
18	18	SECTION 2. Section 485.023, Government Code, is amended to
19	19	read as follows:
20	20	Sec. 485.023. QUALIFICATION. To qualify for a grant under
21	21	this subchapter:
22	22	(1) a production company must have spent a minimum of:
23	23	(A) $250,000 [$1 million] in in-state spending
24	24	for a film or television program; or
25	25	(B) $100,000 in in-state spending for a
26	26	commercial or series of commercials, an educational or
27	27	instructional video or series of educational or instructional
28	28	videos, or a digital interactive media production;
29	29	(2) at least 70 percent of the production crew,
30	30	actors, and extras for a moving image project must be Texas
31	31	residents unless the office determines and certifies in writing
32	32	that a sufficient number of qualified crew, actors, and extras are
33	33	not available to the company at the time principal photography
34	34	begins;
35	35	(3) at least 60 [80] percent of the moving image
36	36	project must be filmed in Texas; and
37	37	(4) a production company must submit to the office an
38	38	expended budget, in a format prescribed by the office, that
39	39	reflects all in-state spending and includes all receipts, invoices,
40	40	pay orders, and other documentation considered necessary by the
41	41	office to accurately determine the amount of a production company's
42	42	in-state spending that has occurred.
43	43	SECTION 3. Sections 485.024 and 485.025, Government Code,
44	44	are amended to read as follows:
45	45	Sec. 485.024. GRANT. (a) Except as provided by Section
46	46	485.025, a grant under this subchapter may not exceed the amount
47	47	established by office rule. The office shall adopt rules
48	48	prescribing the method the office will use to calculate the amount
49	49	of a grant under this subsection. The office shall publish a
50	50	written summary of the method for determining grants before
51	51	awarding a grant under this section. The method must consider at a
52	52	minimum:
53	53	(1) the current and likely future effect a moving
54	54	image project will have on employment, tourism, and economic
55	55	activity in this state; and
56	56	(2) the amount of a production company's in-state
57	57	spending for a moving image project [lesser of five percent of the
58	58	total amount of a production company's in-state spending for a
59	59	moving image project or:
60	60	[(1) $2 million for a film;
61	61	[(2) $2.5 million for a television program;
62	62	[(3) $200,000 for a commercial or series of
63	63	commercials; or
64	64	[(4) $250,000 for a digital interactive media
65	65	production].
66	66	(b) In calculating a grant amount under Section 485.025 or
67	67	the amount of in-state spending for purposes of rules adopted under
68	68	Subsection (a), the office may not include wages of persons,
69	69	including an actor or director, employed in the production of a
70	70	moving image project that exceed $1 million [are:
71	71	[(1) a major part of the production costs of the
72	72	project, as determined by the office; and
73	73	[(2) negotiated or spent before production begins].
74	74	Sec. 485.025. ADDITIONAL GRANT FOR UNDERUSED AREAS. In
75	75	addition to the grant calculated under Section 485.024, a
76	76	production company that spends at least 25 percent of a moving image
77	77	project's filming days in an underused area is eligible for an
78	78	additional grant in an amount equal to 2.5 [1.25] percent of the
79	79	total amount of the production company's in-state spending for the
80	80	moving image project.
81	81	SECTION 4. (a) The Music, Film, Television, and Multimedia
82	82	Office in the office of the governor shall adopt the rules required
83	83	by Section 485.024, Government Code, as amended by this Act, not
84	84	later than November 1, 2009.
85	85	(b) The Music, Film, Television, and Multimedia Office in
86	86	the office of the governor may not award a grant under Section
87	87	485.024, Government Code, as amended by this Act, before the rules
88	88	described by Subsection (a) of this section are adopted.
89	89	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
90	90	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
91	91	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
92	92	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
93	93	Act takes effect September 1, 2009.