Texas is losing millions of dollars in film, television, commercials, and video game projects to other states, primarily Louisiana, New Mexico, Georgia, and Michigan. As a result, the state is losing high-paying jobs, economic activity, and tax dollars. Since 2003, the Texas Film Commission estimates the state has lost more than $500 million in direct spending and more than 7,000 jobs to other states. Although Texas has created a film incentive program and made some adjustments, the program has proven too modest for investors and production companies to find competitive.

HB 873 would provide a more flexible program by decreasing some previous requirements and allowing the Music, Film, Television, and Multimedia Office discretion when awarding grants, rather than strict guidelines that have kept some worthwhile projects from qualifying and resulted in projects going to other states to film. Decreasing spending requirements for film/television projects from $1 million to $250,000 would entice producers to keep work in-state and would qualify independent filmmakers and those in the straight-to-video market. By eliminating the cap on grants, Texas would be better able to attract high-budget productions and would eliminate the disadvantage Texas has in competing with states without caps. The current requirement of 70 percent Texas workforce is too rigid and sometimes impossible to meet with current workforce levels. Decreasing the percentage that must be filmed in Texas from 80 percent to 60 percent would entice more projects to do partial production in Texas. There would be no risk to the state because payments would be made only after a project was completed in Texas. The current program needs the enhancements provided by HB 873 because although the program has been used heavily by producers of television commercials and video games, it has not been effective in stopping the flow of feature films and television programs to states offering more generous percentages.

Opponents of the bill argue: 

While increasing media production in Texas is important, the state cannot afford to increase support for what amounts to using taxpayer dollars for a corporate subsidy. The state of Texas is not in the business of moving image production. The industry is made up of private businesses and mainly concentrated in the Dallas and Austin areas. Rather than offer still more grant money to attract the industry to other parts of the state, municipalities could develop more robust incentive packages to attract projects to their areas.

Whichever you may lean on this issue, the Governor signed the bill and it is now law.