Keep Film & TV jobs in California

I’m writing to urge my fellow Californians to support AB 1839. This is called the Expanded Film and Television Job Creation Act. The film and TV business is one of the most important industries in LA county employing hundreds of thousands of your neighbors in good paying jobs. This assembly bill will help to encourage production companies to stay and shoot their projects in California. Those jobs help increase tax revenues which in turn fund California’s schools, police, fire departments and our infrastructure. These jobs also support businesses less directly connected to the film biz. When film workers (like me) have more income we can spend more on other goods and services (I don’t make a 6 digit income and most of my film and TV co-workers don’t either). These jobs have been flooding away from California at an alarming rate. Currently 44 other states have been offering incentives to production companies. Over the past decade California’s share of one-hour TV series has dropped 36% which cost the state 10,000 jobs. Of the 41 big budget films shot in the last 2 years only one was shot in California. I know some folks will say that this is a subsidy for rich production companies. But understand this; these companies will make their films and TV shows one way or another; whether it’s here or Atlanta or NYC. Wouldn’t it be better for California’s economy if they shot these shows here?