Senate committee advances bill to expand California film and television tax credit

The California State Senate Committee on Tax, Revenue and Taxation voted 5-0 to send AB 1138 to the Committee on Appropriations after an extended presentation by the bill’s authors and broad industry support.

Authors and supporters said the bill would raise tax-credit rates, broaden which productions qualify and add new incentives aimed at workforce training. Assemblymember Zaboo, a joint author, told the committee the measure and a proposed funding increase to $750,000,000 are intended to make California’s program competitive with other states and countries and “bring California back from the brink.”

AB 1138 would raise base credit rates (as described in the bill presentation) and preserve existing uplifts, including an additional incentive for productions filmed outside the Los Angeles zone. The bill’s sponsors said it would expand qualified productions to include shorter television episodes, reboots, animation and certain large-scale…