Massachusetts Production Coalition Achieves Budget Victory

The budget proposal approved by the Mass. State Legislature on Wednesday does not include any changes to the state’s film and television tax incentive program. This is a victory for the Massachusetts Production Coalition (MPC) and its allies, who have fought attempts to eliminate or weaken the successful incentive program.

In a statement released Wednesday, MPC President Margie Sullivan said, “The film tax credit creates and supports thousands of jobs throughout Massachusetts and provides a valuable boost to thousands of local businesses. We’re glad to see a budget today that recognizes the importance of film jobs to our economy, and avoids making changes to the film tax credit.”

FOR THE FULL STATEMENT, CLICK HERE

The MPC also reached out directly to supporters and allies about this victory and the battles to come.

From the MPC: 

OUR ADVOCACY HAS MADE AN IMPACT!

Our intense efforts over the past four months are directly responsible for this victory. Our work to inform the legislature directly and grassroots campaigns have made a very significant impact. These efforts have included sending thousands of emails, hundreds of phone calls and personal letters directly to the State House – as well as personal meetings and visits from hundreds of individuals who participated in the industry’s first ever Advocacy Day on May 12th. Congratulations to all who have participated in and assisted these remarkable efforts!

THE STATE BUDGET PROCESS IS NOT FINISHED

Once approved by the House and Senate, the Governor has 10 days to sign, veto, or amend the budget and send it back to the legislature. The legislature can then either accept the bill as is, reject certain amendments and/or override any vetoes and send it back to the governor who then has 10 additional days to either sign or veto pieces of the budget.

THIS IS A VICTORY, BUT THERE WILL BE MUCH MORE TO COME

The Governor’s Proposal HB.62; Continued Advocacy

The Governor’s proposal (HB.62) to eliminate the incentive program still sits in the Joint Revenue Committee. There are 18 months remaining in this legislative session and a legislator or the Governor could still propose a bill that would affect the film and television tax incentive during this time. There has, and continues to be messages from legislators during the budget process that changes to the film and television tax incentive, instead of eliminating it, should be considered.

We continue to have enormous support in the House and a strong base of support in the Senate on which we need to build. As a community, we have done extraordinary things in the last few months. But to keep our industry in Massachusetts and save our jobs and businesses, we will have to continue those efforts and build on our resources for months to come. We will keep you posted on our efforts as a coalition and actions we can take to keep film jobs in Massachusetts as the things develop in the coming weeks and months.

MALC will continue to report on the ins and outs of the state budget process. Stay tuned!