88R1964 JCG-D
By: Cole H.B. No. 1471
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to eligibility requirements of the moving image industry
incentive program for certain moving image projects involving a
firearm.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 485.021, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subdivision (1) and adding Subdivision (1-a) to read as
follows:
(1) "Firearm" has the meaning assigned by Section
62.014, Parks and Wildlife Code.
(1-a) "In-state spending" means the amount of money
spent in Texas by a production company during the production and
completion of a moving image project, including the amount spent on
wages to Texas residents. The term does not include wages described
by Section 485.024(b).
SECTION 2. Section 485.022(b), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) The office shall develop a procedure for the submission
of grant applications and the awarding of grants under this
subchapter. The procedure must include provisions relating to:
(1) methods by which an individual's Texas residency
as described by Section 485.021(4) can be proved; and
(2) requirements for the submission, before
production of a moving image project begins, of:
(A) an estimate of total in-state spending;
(B) the shooting script or story board, as
applicable;
(C) the estimated number of jobs for cast and
production crew during the production and completion of the [a]
moving image project; [and]
(D) a certified statement on whether:
(i) a member of the cast or production crew
will handle or discharge a firearm during the production or
completion of the moving image project; and
(ii) the member described by Subparagraph
(i) has completed the hunter education program described by Section
62.014, Parks and Wildlife Code, or an equivalent firearm education
program as determined by the office; and
(E) any other information considered useful and
necessary by the office for an adequate and accurate analysis of a
production company's in-state spending.
SECTION 3. Section 485.023, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 485.023. QUALIFICATION. To qualify for a grant under
this subchapter:
(1) a production company must have spent a minimum of:
(A) $250,000 in in-state spending for a film or
television program; or
(B) $100,000 in in-state spending for a
commercial or series of commercials, an educational or
instructional video or series of educational or instructional
videos, or a digital interactive media production;
(2) at least 70 percent of the production crew,
actors, and extras for a moving image project must be Texas
residents unless the office determines and certifies in writing
that a sufficient number of qualified crew, actors, and extras are
not available to the company at the time principal photography
begins;
(3) at least 60 percent of the moving image project
must be filmed in Texas; [and]
(4) before handling or discharging a firearm during
the production or completion of the moving image project, each
person who handles or discharges the firearm must complete the
hunter education program described by Section 62.014, Parks and
Wildlife Code, or an equivalent firearm education program as
determined by the office; and
(5) a production company must submit to the office an
expended budget, in a format prescribed by the office, that
reflects all in-state spending and includes all receipts, invoices,
pay orders, and other documentation considered necessary by the
office to accurately determine the amount of a production company's
in-state spending that has occurred.
SECTION 4. The changes in law made by this Act to Chapter
485, Government Code, apply only to a grant awarded on or after the
effective date of this Act. A grant awarded before the effective
date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the
award was made, and the former law is continued in effect for that
purpose.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.