Texas Is Going About Its Hollywood Ambitions All Wrong
There's nothing particularly new or unusual about states offering incentives to lure entertainment companies to produce films, television shows and video games within their borders.
For decades, state and local governments in New York, Georgia, New Mexico and elsewhere have offered rebates and/or incentives in exchange for the boosts to local commerce and employment that large-scale productions can offer. So, on its face, Texas Senate Bill 22 — legislation providing at least $1.5 billion over 10 years to increase production in the Lone Star State — seems not only wise but uncontroversial. But, the measure, which was approved by the state Senate in April and passed by the House last month, is loaded with the kind of poison pills that could conceivably push major productions away.
'Those who opposed the bill raised concerns about how the governor's office will determine which productions to fund,' The Texas Tribune 's Pooja Salhotra noted earlier this year. 'The bill gives the governor's office complete discretion over which projects receive grant funding.' In fact, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, who has made the proposal a priority, has explicitly decreed that these state-subsidized productions should 'export Texas faith and family values,' and each project will be judged on whether it 'portrays Texas and Texans in a positive fashion.'
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