When news broke of the $32.7 billion budget surplus that landed on Texas lawmakers in early 2023 there was no shortage of ideas on what to spend it. One of the options flying around at the time was to place a bigger bet on the state’s film and TV industry. In June 2023, the Texas Legislature did just that: two bills passed in the most recent legislature session raised the Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program (TMIIIP) budget from a $45 million to a whopping $200 million.
The TMIIIP budget increase is an almost 180º flip on the legislature’s attitude toward film and TV industry incentives. As reported by the Dallas Observer, in 2016 the legislature cut the tax incentive by two-thirds and a year later State Senators Robert Hall (R-Edgewood) and Konni Burton (R-Colleyville) alongside Plano’s own State Representative Matt Shaheen submitted bills to dismantle the TMIIIP.
However, in 2022 a record number of states expanded their filmmaking incentives, this might be in part due to a saturation of the production market in Los Angeles that came after the COVID-19 pandemic. According to The Hollywood Reporter, companies could not keep up with the demand of streaming services such as Netflix which lease production facilities for multiple years. Angel Gracia, CEO of Concrete Visions, the company behind a 72-acre film studio development in Mansfield, cited this shortage of high-end soundstages as one of the reasons for the creation of Super Studios in the North Texas city.
“Most of our young students, when they graduate high school, they leave the city and they can’t afford to come back,” said Jason Moore, executive director of the Mansfield Economic Development Corp about the new studio in Mansfield. “So this provides some job opportunities that could keep them here, keep them local in Mansfield. That’s what we’re most excited about.”
According to KXAN, lawmakers expect the increased budget will result in a $1 billion return for the Texas economy. Like García said, “It’s like a mini city, which is something that is attractive when you’re not in the Hollywood area. Filmmakers want to have things nearby they can quickly use.” And that’s money that comes back into the local economy.
Another big bet the legislature placed in the industry revolved around easing requirements for productions. One bill got rid of 2009’sMedia Production Development Zone Act, which would grant tax exemptions for the construction, maintenance, improvement and renovations of media facilities, provided that the facility was in a city of 250,000 people. Before a third bill passed this legislative session, productions needed to meet a residency requirement of 70% to be eligible for the incentive program, but beginning on Sept. 1, that threshold dropped to 55%.
“We’re still one of the higher ones at 55%,” Mindy Raymond, communications director for TXMPA told KXAN. “The good news is the majority of the cast and crew will be Texans.”
