The Motion Pictures Editors Guild building in Los Angeles, California. Michael Buckner for PMC The Motion Picture Editors Guild has become a co-sponsor of the postproduction tax credit bill winding its way through the California legislature, giving extra momentum to an effort aimed at combatting the exodus of entertainment work from the state.
The IATSE-affiliated union joined state Assemblymember Nick Schultz’s bill AB 2319 after working with the legislator and the grassroots group the California Post Alliance (CAPA) on amendments, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. The California IATSE Council, the state political division of the crew union IATSE, has additionally penned a statement in favor of the bill ahead of its consideration in the state Senate’s Revenue and Taxation Committee.
Postproduction expenses on films and TV shows can already qualify for tax credits in California if physical production also occurs in the state. But Schultz’s bill aims to lure editing, VFX, sound mixing, scoring and other types of post opportunities for projects that shoot in California and don’t receive a production tax credit or for projects where physical production takes place outside California. The bill offers a 35 percent base tax credit for these kinds of productions that locate their post work in state.
As part of the agreement between the union and CAPA, sources tell THR, the bill has been changed to create two tiers of applicants for the tax credit, one without predetermined requirements to qualify and another requiring certain labor standards, such as above-average pay rates. Up to 15 percent of the credit’s funds can go to the former camp, while 85-plus percent must go to the latter.
Previously, the union supported the bill but sought to change its labor language. The union claimed this previous verbiage could incentivize projects with poor wages and working conditions. But now, its support is full-throated.
“For months now, the Motion Picture Editors Guild has been pushing hard for a post-production tax credit in California, and we’re proud to now officially cosponsor AB 2319 at Assemblymember Schultz’s invitation,” Editors Guild president F. Hudson Miller said in a statement. “California’s entertainment workers deserve the opportunity to earn a good living in the state they call home.”
The bill aims to close what postproduction advocates say is a weakness in California’s tax credit system. Productions that shot in-state and even elsewhere once often completed post in California; now, competing tax incentives in states like New York and New Jersey and other countries lure productions for this final part of the filmmaking process. According to CAPA, California’s share of U.S. postproduction work decreased more than 11 percent between 2010 and 2024.
IATSE’s clear endorsement could have implications for the bill, given that the union has an established lobbying presence in Sacramento and could bring more resources to the advocacy campaign. Still, the proposed legislation faces an uphill battle in a tight budget year for the state amid federal funding cuts.
After passing the state Assembly in May, on Wednesday the bill advances to the state Senate’s Revenue and Taxation Committee.
“The California Post Alliance is grateful to the Motion Picture Editors Guild for their partnership, and we deeply appreciate California IATSE Council’s support for AB 2319,” CAPA said in a statement. “At a time when post-production work continues to leave the state, our collaboration demonstrates that our industry is standing together to protect jobs for our talented post-production workforce who help make California the heart of the entertainment industry.”
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