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House expands Motion Picture Incentive Fund, removes sunset and adds digital media
Summary
The Utah House on Feb. 22 approved first substitute HB 99 to extend and revise the state Motion Picture Incentive Fund: it removes the sunset, sets a 20% base incentive with a 5% tourism 'kicker' for eligible productions, and brings digital media under the program; the measure passed 57-12 and will go to the Senate.
Representative Hughes, sponsor of the first substitute to House Bill 99, told the House the measure removes a scheduled sunset on Utah’s Motion Picture Incentive Fund and adjusts payout terms to increase predictability for productions.
"So we removed the sunset provision," Hughes said, arguing that certainty is necessary to attract long-running television and digital-media projects. He said the bill sets a 20 percent base rebate and creates "a 5% kicker" to raise the incentive to 25 percent when productions promote Utah tourism. Hughes also said the bill explicitly includes digital media firms in the rebate program and preserves a separate $500,000 cash pot for certain applicants administered through the Governor’s Office of Economic Development with CPA review of in-state spending.
Supporters said the fund generates local economic activity beyond direct rebates — filling hotels, hiring caterers and buying local goods — and that the program is post-performance, not seed money. Representative Duckworth said smaller communities such as Magna have benefited from film shoots. Representative Noel told colleagues the state has an estimated $380 million in reasons to compete for productions and noted federal land access sometimes constrains location choices.
Questions from the floor probed the fund’s accountability and whether tax revenues would replenish education or general funds. Hughes said GOED verifies receipts with CPAs and counts only expenditures made inside Utah; he estimated a multiplier effect and argued that increased employment bolsters the state education fund via income tax receipts. Representative Christiansen asked whether the Motion Picture Advisory Committee or other selection criteria consider film content; Hughes said an advisory committee reviews applications and seeks to avoid using public dollars to endorse inappropriate content.
The House recorded a voice vote and the first substitute to HB 99 passed 57-12. The measure will be transmitted to the Senate for further consideration.
