California lawmakers weigh lifting $750M film credit cap

California lawmakers opened a discussion Thursday at an Assembly committee hearing in North Hollywood on removing the cap on the state's $750 million film and TV production incentive, according to Variety.

Union leaders and industry advocates testified that the program is not enough to stop the outflow of production jobs. Betsy Beers, creative partner of Shonda Rhimes, said a planned Grey's Anatomy spinoff set in West Texas did not receive a California tax credit and is filming in Albuquerque.

Arlen Valdivia of the Motion Picture Association said the program is not competitive or predictable enough to address production loss to other regions. Rick Chavez Zbur, chair of the Assembly Select Committee on Growing and Retaining the Creative Economy in California, said he expects to pursue improvements in the next legislative session, including possibly increasing or eliminating the cap. He floated "dynamic scoring" as a way to account for benefits of the film credit rather than only its headline cost.

The numbers drew debate. Rowan Isaaks of the state Legislative Analyst's Office cited research showing film credits return 20-50 cents per dollar invested and expressed skepticism about dynamic scoring. Stephen Cheung of the Los Angeles Economic Development Committee cited his group's MPA-funded research finding a return of $1.07 to state and local coffers.

Assemblyman Nick Schultz floated extending the program's expiration date beyond its current 2030 sunset and opening eligibility to commercials and game shows.

Pressure on the incentive

In October 2025, California doubled its film incentive cap from $330 million to $750 million and raised the base credit from 20% to 35%. In October 2026, FilmLA reported that production volume continues to fall in the Los Angeles area even as the share of scripted TV shows receiving a state subsidy has nearly doubled. The program is currently set to sunset in 2030.