Bill to attract film industry passes Idaho Legislature
Wednesday, March 26, 2008 10:57 AM PDT
BOISE (AP) — A bill that supporters say could set the stage for film crews to come to Idaho and spend millions of dollars on local businesses has cleared the Legislature.
The Senate voted 27-8 Tuesday to approve a measure that would establish a fund to provide 20 percent rebates on Idaho expenditures to producers who shoot their films, shows or commercials in the state.
The measure has already passed the House 51-17 and now awaits Gov. C.L. ‘‘Butch’’ Otter’s signature.
Supporters say the bill is aimed at luring film productions to the state to capture some of the economic benefits that crews bring when they come to town — for example, through equipment rentals, catered meals and salaries for local crew members.
Lawmakers said 45 other states offer such incentives, including neighboring Utah that has watched its film industry explode over the last few years by landing production of shows like the Disney Channel’s popular ‘‘High School Musical’’ and its sequels.
‘‘If we want to attract this kind of business, this is the kind of playing field we have to play on,’’ said Sen. Dean Cameron, R-Rupert. ‘‘Everyone that goes to see a movie that shows Idaho’s beauty, mountains, ski resorts and way of life will think highly of our state and may come and visit us.’’
Under the plan, eligible productions must spend more than $200,000. Twenty percent of the film crew must be from Idaho, and the measure sunsets in 2014. Rebates are capped at $500,000.
In 2006, lawmakers passed film incentive legislation to reimburse all sales and use taxes for media productions that spend more than $200,000 within the state. Just a year later, however, a broader proposal similar to this year’s bill failed by just a single vote in the House.
As the proposal made its way through the 2008 Legislature, a star-studded cast of movie and media types breezed into Boise to lobby for the plan. Those dropping by included Heather Rae, an Idaho producer whose movie ‘‘Frozen River’’ won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. Rae said without more significant incentives, the state would get a thumbs-down rating from filmmakers scouting locations.
Critics say the plan is a giveaway to big Hollywood companies that don’t need the money and won’t invest long term in the state.
‘‘We are going to literally pay people to come to our beautiful state and then leave,’’ said Sen. Joe Stegner, R-Lewiston. ‘‘Nowhere else am I aware that we are setting up a slush fund for state government to give people for the costs of doing business in the state.’’
Supporters say the proposal is sound economic development policy since every dollar spent to attract the film industry will cause production crews to spend about $12 on businesses in the state, according to estimates from Utah. They also say it can also have less tangible effects like raising the national profile of a region.
Sen. Mel Richardson, R-Idaho Falls, said he remembers how Sun Valley gained international attention as a skiing destination after stars like Bing Crosby shot films there.
‘‘Those movies established the image of Sun Valley,’’ he said. ‘‘That’s advertising you can’t buy.’’
