CS/CS/HB697, the Entertainment Industry Incentive bill, passed the House unanimously yesterday.

Rep Precourt, Rep Carroll, and Rep Ambler eloquently and enthusiastically presented the bill with Rep Glorioso and Rep Rehwinkel-Vasilinda standing with them. Many other members stood up and passionately expressed their support.

After the vote, Rep Precourt asked the Speaker to open up the voting machine so he could invite members to sign on as co-sponsors. All members present – 112 members total – signed on as co-sponsors. This is incredible support indeed! We are so very grateful to the primary sponsors and the many other co-sponsors.

The bill will now go over to the Senate. Rep Precourt and Rep Carroll will be over there today to urge leadership to move along the process. There are several possible scenarios that could develop, but all will involve negotiating the final language and the total amount of tax credits available.

We are hopeful that, at minimum, the Senate will accept the House language and suggested numbers ($55 million the first year, $50 million the second year, and $27 million the following three years).  However, Senator Haridopolos’s companion bill (SB1430) still holds at $75 million a year,  which provides good leveraging room to get the House’s numbers up.  The language in the Gaetz’s “jobs bill” (SB 1752), which already passed the Senate, includes $20 million a year for five years for the part related to the entertainment incentive.

We will keep everyone posted, and as always, you can locate the most recent the legislative updates and links to legislative information on our website at http://www.filminflorida.com/wh/Legislative.asp.

Please thank your area Representative(s) for their support if you see their name in the list of additional co-sponsors for HB697.

HB 697 by Finance & Tax Council and Economic Development Policy Committee and [Primary Sponsors] Precourt and Ambler and Carroll

(CO-SPONSORS) Abruzzo; Adams; Adkins; Anderson; Aubuchon; Bembry; Bernard; Bogdanoff; Bovo; Boyd; Brandenburg; Braynon; Brisé; Bullard; Burgin; Bush; Cannon; Chestnut; Clarke-Reed; Coley; Cretul; Crisafulli; Cruz; Culp; Domino; Dorworth; Drake; Eisnaugle; Evers; Fetterman; Fitzgerald; Flores; Ford; Fresen; Frishe; Galvano; Garcia; Gibbons; Gibson; Glorioso; Gonzalez; Grimsley; Hasner; Hays; Heller; Holder; Homan; Hooper; Horner; Hudson; Hukill; Jenne; Jones; Kelly; Kiar; Kreegel; Kriseman; Llorente; Long; Lopez-Cantera; Mayfield; McBurney; McKeel; Murzin; Nehr; O’Toole; Pafford; Patronis; Patterson; Plakon; Poppell; Porth; Proctor; Rader; Ray; Reagan; Reed; Rehwinkel Vasilinda; Renuart; Rivera; Robaina; Roberson, K.; Roberson, Y.; Rogers; Rouson; Sachs; Sands; Saunders; Schenck; Schwartz; Skidmore; Snyder; Soto; Stargel; Steinberg; Taylor; Thompson, N.; Thurston; Tobia; Troutman; Van Zant; Waldman; Weatherford; Weinstein; Williams, A.; Williams, T.; Wood; Workman; Zapata

Lucia Fishburne State Film Commissioner Governor’s Office of Film & Entertainment The Capitol 400 S. Monroe St., Suite 2001 Tallahassee, FL  32399-0001 Phone: 850.410.4765 Fax: 850.410.4770 email: lucia.fishburne@myflorida.com www.filminflorida.com