California Governor Gavin Newsom wants the state’s film and TV tax credit to reach at least $1 billion a year, a $250 million increase from the current $750 million programme. Hollywood’s unions support the direction but are not calling it a win until the next governor makes the commitment real.
What Newsom proposed
Newsom said on Monday that California needs “at least $1 billion in annual tax credits” for film and television production. The programme was more than doubled last year from $330 million to $750 million, so this is the second major expansion ask in quick succession.
The credit has already helped bring production back to the state. CBS’s Tracker films in California from Season 4, joined by Netflix’s The Night Agent, Apple TV+’s Stick, Prime Video’s Mr & Mrs Smith, and titles such as Big Little Lies, Fallout and The Pitt. Still, production levels in Los Angeles continue to fall, and California competes with international territories and states with more muscular incentive structures.
The unions are holding their applause
The Entertainment Union Coalition, which includes SAG-AFTRA, IATSE, DGA, WGAW, the Teamsters, AFM and LiUNA, thanked the governor but passed the pressure to his successor. The coalition wants a “proportionate response” that modernises the structural limits on the programme.
Teamsters Local 399’s secretary-treasurer was blunter, arguing the proposal is “a day late and yet again, some dollars short.” The union says California should uncap the credit to compete with New York and international territories, and keep pushing for a federal incentive that lawmakers introduced in Congress in September.
Why this matters for the screen business
This is not just Sacramento budget politics. The size and structure of California’s credit shapes where scripted slates shoot, which crews are available and how quickly originals get delivered.
- The $1 billion floor is not law yet; the next governor and the legislature must agree.
- Even at the current $750 million, Los Angeles production is still declining.
- If the programme is uncapped or restructured, studios will re-run location economics on current development slates.
For global streaming buyers, the structural debate is the real signal. An uncapped California credit would make Los Angeles more competitive against Atlanta, New York and Vancouver; a capped $1 billion programme may keep the same bottleneck.
What to watch next
Media planners and entertainment marketers should watch the final California budget before locking production and release assumptions. The headline number matters less than whether the cap and structural limits change.
Source: Deadline
