“The passage of House Bill 873 is an important step in helping Texas regains its footing in the moving image business,” Governor Perry said. “With this legislation, we are strengthening our state’s investment in a vital industry that not only shows off our state to the rest of the world, but also draws investment and creates jobs for Texans.”
The governor was joined by lawmakers, filmmaker Robert Rodriguez, members of the Texas Motion Picture Alliance, and representatives of the film, television, commercial and video game industries from across the state at Rodriguez’s Troublemaker Studios for the signing.
“The Studios at Las Colinas has supported the passing of House Bill 873 from the very beginning,” said Justin Muller, Managing Director of the soundstages located in Irving. “This will enable us to compete on a more level playing field in attracting feature film and television productions to the Studios as well as to the City of Irving. Many prestigious films and hundreds of commercial and corporate shoots have utilized the stages and we hope producers will immediately take advantage of these new incentives.”
Texas has lost approximately 7,000 crew positions and $500 million in production spending to states with more competitive film incentives, such as New Mexico, whose feature film and television productions contributed $242 million to its state economy in 2008, and Louisiana, which earned $350 million in production in 2007. Currently, about 25 percent of Texas-based film professionals are working in these states, some starting to relocate permanently.
The moving image industry has brought more than $1.2 billion dollars to the state in the past 10 years. Governor Perry noted that these investments would not only boost the entertainment industry in Texas, but would also indirectly affect other industries and businesses that support these productions.
