Assembly committee hears proposal for stand‑alone post‑production tax credit to bring VFX and editing jobs back to California
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Summary
AB 2319 would create a California Post Production Tax Credit for qualifying post-production expenditures to retain and attract post-production work. Backers including the Motion Picture Editors Guild and industry economists urged amendments and labor standards; author said program size and caps remain under negotiation.
Assemblymember Schultz presented AB 2319, a bill to create a targeted California Post Production Tax Credit for qualified post production expenditures whether or not principal photography occurred in the state. Supporters told the committee that post production work has shifted out of California and that a standalone credit would recapture high-wage jobs and vendor spending.
F. Hudson Miller, president of the Motion Picture Editors Guild, said members have lost jobs and urged amendments that ensure credits support good union jobs: “Whenever California invests in job creation, the state needs to know the jobs being incentivized are good jobs,” he said. Economist Adam Fowler said post-production has migrated to other jurisdictions and argued a credit calibrated to the contemporary market would generate returns through wages and local spending.
Authors and stakeholders acknowledged that program size, annual caps and labor standards are still being negotiated. The author asked the committee to allow the bill off the suspense file so those discussions can continue; the committee agreed to move AB 2319 to Appropriations with recorded committee support (vote recorded 6–2–1). The bill will continue through the amendment process where budget authority and labor language are expected to be finalized.
