Washington Senate passes SB 5539 (Motion Picture Competitiveness Program)

The Senate has passed SB 5539, the bill to renew Washington's Motion Picture Competitiveness Program.  The program offers funding assistance of up to 30% for movies, television shows and commercials filmed in Washington that meet certain spending thresholds ($500,000 for feature films; $300,000 for television productions; and $150,000 for commercials); use local businesses and workers; and offer health and pension benefits.  The renewal of Washington's film incentive is vital to the local film industry, as investors will simply not allow productions to be filmed here when there are 40 states that currently provide inventive programs. 

Renewal of the program makes economic sense: according to a Washington State Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission review, for the $20 million the state put into the incentive program since 2007, film companies spent about $137 million. In other words, the state and its workers got an almost sevenfold return on their investment.

The bill will now be referred to the House of Representatives for consideration.  Stay tuned.