Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Film And Music Production Incentives topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee approves film and music production rebate changes, adopts amendment on 'loan-out' payments
Summary
A legislative committee voted to report favorably on House Bill 373, including an amendment that narrows when payments to "loan-out" companies count toward the production expenditures rebate; the committee also gave a favorable report on a similar Senate bill with a departmental change.
Representative Kiel presented two largely identical measures to the Economic Development and Tourism committee that would expand Alabama's incentives for film and music production and change how certain payments are treated for the production expenditures rebate.
The bills would add musical productions and albums to the existing incentive language, allocate $2,000,000 for musical albums, and allow unused incentive funds to be rolled forward. Representative Kiel said the proposals update language from earlier drafts and reflect a change in leadership at the Alabama Film Office (also referenced in testimony as the Alabama entertainment office).
Members adopted a friendly amendment that revises the rebate computation for production expenditures. Under the amendment, other compensation includes payments a production company makes to a loan-out company only if the production company withheld and remitted Alabama income tax at a rate of 5% on all payments to the loan-out company for services performed in the state. The amendment text, offered on the floor, states that "the amount withheld and remitted to the Alabama Department of Revenue is considered to be an estimated income tax payment made on behalf of the loan-out company." Committee members voted to adopt the amendment and then moved the House bill forward as amended.
Representative Kiel told the committee the bills are similar to prior measures the committee has considered and that one difference between the two versions is a study component inserted in the Senate measure; the House version did not include the additional study. For the Senate bill, committee members adopted an amendment to return a function to the Department of Commerce rather than creating a new separate study component.
Votes at a glance: The committee adopted the amendment to the House bill and gave a favorable report on House Bill 373 as amended. The committee also gave a favorable report on Senate Bill 177; both measures were reported out of committee. Recorded members present at roll call and recorded as voting in favor: Representatives Witt, Shaffer, Hollis, Trenton, Brown, Lumack, Morris, Jones, Rafferty, Robertson, Klaus and Warren.
The transcript shows discussion focused on drafting details (eligibility of loan-out payments, tax-withholding requirements, appropriation language for musical albums) and on whether an additional study of the film industry was necessary. No formal fiscal amounts beyond the $2,000,000 allocation for musical albums and the roll-forward language were specified in committee testimony beyond the explanatory language offered by Representative Kiel; the transcript contains inconsistent phrasing about the roll-forward amount (see clarifying details).
Action now moves to the next stages of the legislative process; the committee did not take up additional hearings or public comment on the items recorded in this segment. No other formal actions on these bills were recorded during this segment of the meeting.
