Bill Summary for Bill Number HB09-1010

Date: 02/11/2009

Final
BILL SUMMARY for HB09-1010

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE

Votes: View-->	Action Taken:
Moved amendment L.001. The motion passed without Moved amendment L.003. The motion passed without Refer House Bill 09-1010, as amended, to the Commi	Pass Without Objection Pass Without Objection PASS

01:31 PM -- House Bill 09-1010 - Concerning the Promotion of Colorado as a Location for Film Production Activities

Representative Massey, and Representative McGihon, prime sponsors, began by distributing amendments L.001 (Attachment C) and L.003 (Attachment D), and a memorandum addressing the fiscal impact of the bill given adoption of L.001 (Attachment E), and spoke to the fiscal impacts of the bill. Representative Massey began by saying that House Bill 09-1010 will provide a significant boost to the economy in terms of jobs and tax revenue that will more than pay for the cost of the legislation.

Representative Massey commented on the number of film students that would benefit from the bill in terms of more job opportunities in the state tied to the film industry. He explained that the bill creates the Colorado Office of Film, Television, and Media (office) within the Colorado Office of Economic Development in the Governor’s Office. Duties include marketing Colorado as a destination for making movie films and other related activities; coordinating efforts among production companies and government agencies; conducting educational seminars; administering the Colorado film production tax credit; and issuing income tax credit certificates. Representative Massey noted that the bill has a reporting requirement. No later than January 30, 2010, and each January 30 thereafter through 2015, the office must report to the Finance Committees of the General Assembly regarding all credit certificates issued.

The Colorado Office of Film, Television, and Media (office) distributed a packet of materials related to the film industry (Attachment F). Representative McGihon commented that she has a great interest in films. This bill is a green-economic development growth bill. Colorado ranks 5th among all states for the highest concentration of artists. She continued by referencing a packet of materials by the Film Commission and discussed the number of small businesses that would be impacted by the bill. Representative McGihon noted that film production is the best thing for Colorado's hospitality industry as it brings many new tax dollars into the state. Increased film activity will pay for the costs in the bill by providing a $1.40 return on every dollar invested in the film industry. She closed by noting that film production companies hire many local workers that drive local economies and will help the state battle the recession.

The committee discussed the refundable tax credit in the bill.

The following persons testified:

02:00 PM -- Mr. Kevin Shand, Colorado Film Commission, testified in support of the bill and discussed movies that were filmed in New Mexico rather than Colorado because of film incentives. Ms. Shand closed by discussing film incentive impacts and noted that the film industry will go to the state that makes the film cost-effective to produce. Generally, states with more generous credits are where film companies decide to make films.

02:07 PM -- Dr. Richard Wobbekind, University of Colorado at Boulder, testified in support of the bill and discussed the secondary effects of job creation in the bill. Dr. Wobbekind noted that the quality of a workforce is important to the state. He continued by pointing out that the film industry's jobs have many secondary impacts that benefit the state of Colorado. He continued by saying that the net tax generated from House Bill 09-1010 will more than offset the cost in the bill.

Dr. Wobbekind discussed the level of film production in other states that have tax incentives for film production. This industry is a high salary industry. He continued by noting that most of the film-making activities that occurred in Colorado were filmed along the front wage. He closed by discussing other job impacts. The tax credits in this bill will be paid for by the economic activity generated by the bill. This bill will be revenue positive for local governments in Colorado. He closed by saying that investment in the industry by the state will help the industry grow.

The committee discussed the secondary impacts in House Bill 09-1010 that are tied to job creation. Dr. Wobbekind responded by discussing the credits in the bill and talked about the success that other states have had with tax incentives for the film industry. Dr. Wobbekind noted that the film industry in Colorado is in decline and this bill will reverse the decline. The down-side of this bill is that it would be revenue neutral.

02:42 PM -- Mr. Frederic Lahey, Colorado Film School & Colorado Community College System, testified in support of the bill. He briefly spoke about the advantages the film industry brings to local colleges and arts institutions in Colorado. There are over 1,000 students majoring in film studies in 2006 and the number is increasing each year. This bill will help students get through these studies. He noted that without this bill, it is likely that these students will have to leave Colorado to find jobs in the industry. This is a tremendous loss to Colorado. This bill will help revive the industry. Mr. Lahey closed by urging the committee to support the bill.

02:49 PM -- Mr. Ken Seagren, Lighting Services Inc., testified in support of the bill. He closed by discussing the new jobs that could be created by the passage of the bill.

02:54 PM -- Ms. Heidi McLean, Payreel Inc., testified in support of the bill and discussed the high-paying jobs that would be created in Colorado if House Bill 09-1010 was enacted by the legislature. She asked the committee to support a competitive incentive program as that contained in House Bill 09-1010.

02:59 PM -- Mr. David Emmrich, Postmodern Inc., testified in support of the legislation.

03:05 PM -- Mr. Brian Moore, Colorado Bar Association, commented on the amendments to the bill. We urge the committee to include a definition of obscenity as contained in state law.

03:08 PM -- Mr. Todd Herreid, Legislative Council Staff, discussed the revenue impact in the fiscal note and distributed a memoranda from the State of Louisiana Legislative Fiscal Office (Attachment G). While we recognize that the bill provides an incentive for economic activity, it is difficult to untangle the amount of activity that is tied to the credit and quantify the revenue gain in the bill that is tied to the credit.

The committee inquired whether the state is moving forward to looking at incorporating dynamic modeling into its fiscal note process. Mr. Herreid responded by discussing the challenges tied to the dynamic modeling process. Mr. Herreid closed by commenting on the findings of the Louisiana Fiscal Office on film incentive credits.

03:22 PM


BILL:	HB09-1010
TIME:	03:22:22 PM
MOVED:	Summers
MOTION:	Moved amendment L.001. The motion passed without objection by those members present.
SECONDED:	Benefield
		VOTE
	Apuan
	Benefield
	Gerou
	Kefalas
	Kerr A.
	Lambert
	Roberts
	Summers
	Swalm
	Frangas
	Judd

Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:	HB09-1010
TIME:	03:23:36 PM
MOVED:	Summers
MOTION:	Moved amendment L.003. The motion passed without objection by those members present.
SECONDED:	Benefield
		VOTE
	Apuan
	Benefield
	Gerou
	Kefalas
	Kerr A.
	Lambert
	Roberts
	Summers
	Swalm
	Frangas
	Judd

Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:	HB09-1010
TIME:	03:23:54 PM
MOVED:	Kefalas
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 09-1010, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a 7-4 vote.
SECONDED:	Frangas
		VOTE
	Apuan	Yes
	Benefield	No
	Gerou	Yes
	Kefalas	Yes
	Kerr A.	Yes
	Lambert	No
	Roberts	Yes
	Summers	Yes
	Swalm	No
	Frangas	Yes
	Judd	No

Final YES: 7 NO: 4 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

03:34 PM

Adjourn.