RAISING THE CAP?
Some urging even greater incentives from the state
Always a hot-button issue is increasing the amount of money paid out to productions.
Michelle Dockery, left above, and “Godless” creator Scott Frank discuss a scene on set in northern New Mexico. The miniseries was filmed entirely in New Mexico and streams on Netflix.
Actor Chuck Carrington takes a break while filming the independent film “Cowboy Drifter.” Carrington specifically brought the film to New Mexico because of the tax incentive program. The movie filmed in Albuquerque and Belen.
SANTA FE — After changes jolted New Mexico’s film incentive program in 2011, there’s been a smoother ride in recent years.
But more adjustments could be on the horizon in Santa Fe with new leaders taking office soon — New Mexicans will pick a new governor in November — and the state having solidified its reputation as an “it” destination for television shows and movies.
House Speaker Brian Egolf, D-Santa
Fe, said it’s unlikely the Legislature will approve changes to the film incentive program during the 2018 legislative session, which will be Gov. Susana Martinez’s last regular session in office.
However, he said significant revisions — including possible change to the state’s $50 million annual cap on film rebate spending — could be considered in subsequent years. Several Democratic gubernatorial candidates have already called for the cap to be repealed, or at least increased.
“I do think we’ll look at it in the next administration,” said Egolf, who recently met with executives of the Motion Picture Association of America. “I think the cap will need to be eliminated or significantly raised.”
New Mexico was one of the first states to launch a film incentive program — it began in 2003 — and is now one of 31 states to offer tax subsidies to filmmakers, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
But with the state facing a budget crunch in 2011 and spending on film incentives having steadily increased in previous years, Martinez pushed for lawmakers to reduce the amount spent on film rebates.
That led to the annual cap being enacted, which caused an abrupt slowdown — at least for a few years — in film industry activity in New Mexico.
Since then, however, there have been several bills signed into law by Martinez that have expanded the incentive program and added new gadgets to the state’s film toolbox.
A 2015 bill allowed film companies to assign their tax rebates to banks on a onetime basis in order to get upfront loans, while another bill enacted that same year expanded the incentive program to allow qualifying TV pilot episodes to receive additional rebates for filming here.
And of course there was the 2013 legislation — dubbed the “Breaking Bad bill” — that expanded New Mexico’s film rebate program to 30 percent for television series that are filmed in the state. The state offers a 25 percent to 30 percent rebate to film companies for most direct, in-state expenditures.
A top-ranking executive for Walt Disney Co., which owns and operates several television networks, said at the time the legislation would be a “game-changer” and the prophesy has largely been proven correct.