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  H.B. No. 1634
 
 
 
 
AN ACT
  relating to incentives for the film, television, and multimedia
  production industries.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  The heading to Subchapter B, Chapter 485,
  Government Code, is amended to read as follows:
  SUBCHAPTER B. MOVING IMAGE [FILM] INDUSTRY INCENTIVE PROGRAM
         SECTION 2.  Section 485.021, Government Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 485.021.  DEFINITIONS.  In this subchapter:
               (1)  "In-state spending" means the amount of money
  spent in Texas by a production company during the production and
  completion of a moving image project, including the amount spent on
  wages to Texas residents.  The term does not include wages described
  by Section 485.024(b).
               (2)  "Moving image project" ["Filmed entertainment"]
  means a visual and sound production, including a[:
                     [(A)]  film,[;
                     [(B)]  television program,[; or
                     [(C)]  national or multistate commercial, or
  digital interactive media production.  The term does not include a
  production that is obscene, as defined by Section 43.21, Penal
  Code.
               (3) [(2)]  "Production company" includes a film
  production company, television production company, digital
  interactive media production company, or film and television
  production company.
               (4) [(3)]  "Texas resident" means an individual who has
  resided in Texas since the 120th [60th] day before the first day of
  principal photography on a moving image project [a filmed
  entertainment].
               (5) [(4)]  "Underused area" includes any area of this
  state other than the metropolitan areas of Austin[, Houston,] or
  Dallas [Dallas-Fort Worth].
         SECTION 3.  The heading to Section 485.022, Government Code,
  is amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 485.022.  MOVING IMAGE [FILM] INDUSTRY INCENTIVE
  PROGRAM.
         SECTION 4.  Section 485.022, Government Code, is amended by
  amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsections (d), (e),
  and (f) to read as follows:
         (a)  The office shall administer a grant program for
  production companies that produce moving image projects [filmed
  entertainments] in this state, to the extent that gifts, grants,
  donations, or other money, including appropriations, are made
  available to the office for that purpose.
         (b)  The office shall develop a procedure for the submission
  of grant applications and the awarding of grants under this
  subchapter. The procedure must include provisions relating to:
               (1)  methods by which an individual's Texas residency
  as described by Section 485.021(4) [485.021(3)] can be proved; and
               (2)  requirements for the submission, before
  production of a moving image project [filmed entertainment] begins,
  of:
                     (A)  an estimate of total in-state spending;
                     (B)  the shooting script or story board, as
  applicable;
                     (C)  the estimated number of jobs for cast and
  production crew during the production and completion of a moving
  image project; and
                     (D)  any other information considered useful and
  necessary by the office for an adequate and accurate analysis of a
  production company's in-state spending [wages that will be paid to
  Texas residents].
         (d)  The office may award a grant to a production company
  only based on a production company's in-state spending that the
  office verifies as having been completed.
         (e)  The office is not required to act on any grant
  application and may deny an application because of inappropriate
  content or content that portrays Texas or Texans in a negative
  fashion, as determined by the office, in a moving image project. In
  determining whether to act on or deny a grant application, the
  office shall consider general standards of decency and respect for
  the diverse beliefs and values of the citizens of Texas.
         (f)  Before a grant is awarded under this subchapter, the
  office shall:
               (1)  require a copy of the final script; and
               (2)  determine if any substantial changes occurred
  during production on a moving image project to include content
  described by Subsection (e).
         SECTION 5.  Section 485.023, Government Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 485.023.  QUALIFICATION.  To qualify for a grant under
  this subchapter:
               (1)  [,] a production company must have spent [pay] a
  minimum of:
                     (A)  $1 million in in-state spending
  [(1)  $500,000 in wages to Texas residents] for a film or
  television program; or
                     (B)  $100,000 in in-state spending [(2)     $50,000
  in wages to Texas residents] for a commercial or series of
  commercials;
               (2)  at least 70 percent of the production crew,
  actors, and extras for a moving image project must be Texas
  residents;
               (3)  at least 80 percent of the moving image project
  must be filmed in Texas; and
               (4)  a production company must submit to the office an
  expended budget, in a format prescribed by the office, that
  reflects all in-state spending and includes all receipts, invoices,
  pay orders, and other documentation considered necessary by the
  office to accurately determine the amount of a production company's
  in-state spending that has occurred.
         SECTION 6.  Sections 485.024 and 485.025, Government Code,
  are amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 485.024.  GRANT.  (a)  Except as provided by Section
  485.025, a grant under this subchapter may not exceed the lesser of
  five[:
               [(1)  20] percent of the total amount of a production
  company's in-state spending [wages paid to Texas residents] for a
  moving image project [filmed entertainment;] or:
               (1)  $2 million for a film;
               (2)  $2.5 million for a television program;
               (3)  $200,000 for a commercial or series of
  commercials; or
               (4)  $250,000 for a digital interactive media
  production [(2)  $750,000].
         (b)  In calculating a grant amount under Section 485.025 or
  the amount of in-state spending for purposes of Subsection (a), the
  office may not include wages of persons, including an actor or
  director, employed in the production of a moving image project 
  [filmed entertainment] that are:
               (1)  a major part of the production costs of the project 
  [entertainment], as determined by the office; and
               (2)  negotiated or spent before production begins.
         Sec. 485.025.  ADDITIONAL GRANT FOR UNDERUSED AREAS.  In
  addition to the grant calculated under Section 485.024, a
  production company that spends at least 25 percent of a moving image
  project's [filmed entertainment's] filming days in an underused
  area is eligible for an additional grant in an amount equal to 1.25
  [five] percent of the total amount of the production company's
  in-state spending for the moving image project [wages paid to Texas
  residents for the filmed entertainment].
         SECTION 7.  Subchapter B, Chapter 485, Government Code, is
  amended by adding Sections 485.027 and 485.028 to read as follows:
         Sec. 485.027.  WORKFORCE TRAINING AND PERFORMANCE MEASURES.
  (a)  The office may contract with public junior colleges, as defined
  by Section 61.003, Education Code, or Texas nonprofit organizations
  to create a moving image industry personnel training program for
  developing and expanding the workforce for moving image projects in
  Texas.
         (b)  The office shall develop appropriate performance
  measures for training programs created under this section.
         (c)  The office and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating
  Board shall cooperate to develop performance measures that are
  appropriate for classroom instruction before the office may spend
  money to implement this section.
         (d)  The office shall consult with the Texas Workforce
  Commission to collect and compile data on the status of the moving
  image industry employment base in Texas.
         Sec. 485.028.  FILM ARCHIVE PROGRAM. (a) The office may
  contract with an organization that is exempt from taxation under
  Section 501(c)(3), Internal Revenue Code of 1986, to provide
  technical resources regarding archiving moving image projects,
  improving public access to the moving image heritage of Texas,
  including campaign material, and discovering, preserving, and
  collecting digital copies of the moving image heritage of Texas.  A
  contract entered into under this section must require an
  organization to:
               (1)  provide service to the public;
               (2)  assist private organizations statewide; and
               (3)  provide technical assistance with archiving and
  preserving moving images and digitization work.
         (b)  The office by rule may develop policies and procedures
  for coordinating with state agencies to implement this section.
         (c)  The office shall establish performance measures for
  contractors that enter into a contract under this section.
         SECTION 8.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
  a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
  provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
  Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
  Act takes effect September 1, 2007.
 
 
  ______________________________ ______________________________
     President of the Senate Speaker of the House     
 
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 1634 was passed by the House on April
  12, 2007, by the following vote:  Yeas 138, Nays 2, 1 present, not
  voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
  No. 1634 on May 21, 2007, by the following vote:  Yeas 141, Nays 1,
  1 present, not voting.
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House   
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 1634 was passed by the Senate, with
  amendments, on May 17, 2007, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays
  0.
 
  ______________________________
  Secretary of the Senate   
  APPROVED: __________________
                  Date       
   
           __________________
                Governor