Support for Bill Specifying Locations of $700m/Year in NYS-Funded Film/TV Productions
TITLE OF BILL
An act to amend the economic development law, in relation to requiring the department of economic development to issue a quarterly report on film production and post production tax credits by project and by county in the aggregate and publish such reports on such department’s website.
STATEMENT OF SUPPORT
Reinvent Albany strongly supports this bill because it will establish basic transparency measures that reveal where in the state New York is spending $700 million a year in taxpayer funds to subsidize film and TV productions. Supporters of the subsidy claim that it has been a key economic driver in upstate New York but have provided no supporting evidence.
There is, however, extensive evidence showing that film/TV tax credits are a bad investment of taxpayer funds. Reinvent Albany examined 2018-22 data from the Database of Economic Incentives, and found that 93% of all jobs that film and TV productions claimed subsidies for were associated with projects whose “project location” was in New York City, and only 7% went upstate or to Long Island.
We note that ESD’s current quarterly data reports are not nearly detailed enough to determine where productions are actually being filmed or where project hires are residing and working. This bill will show lawmakers and the public where the $700 million in annual film and TV production subsidies are being used and which New York residents receive them.
We urge the Legislature to pass the bill, and the Governor to sign it.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS
Section 1 adds a new subdivision 50 to Economic Development Law §100 requiring that Empire State Development submit a quarterly report to the governor, budget director, Senate majority leader, and Assembly speaker and publish it on the agency’s website within 15 days of the end of each quarter. The report shall include all film/TV tax credits issued that quarter for each project, and for each county in the aggregate:
- Qualified production costs and in which counties costs were incurred;
- Days of principal photography and in which counties;
- Number of employees associated and total hired in relation to each project, and where such employees reside and work;
- Credit-eligible work-hours and in which counties; and
- Amount of tax credits issued.
Section 2 states that the bill takes effect one year after becoming law.