By: Goldman, et al. (Senate Sponsor - Huffman) H.B. No. 4539
(In the Senate - Received from the House May 5, 2023;
May 9, 2023, read first time and referred to Committee on Finance;
May 15, 2023, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 14,
Nays 3; May 15, 2023, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to qualifications for participation in the moving image
industry incentive program.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. 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 55 [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) 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 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
* * * * *