The final chapter of IMIN's own legislative version of WAR AND PEACE has been written. The Conference Committee on HEA 1125 has passed the House and Senate. With this follow-up language, IMIN has achieved final passage (in addition to the language previously made law by the override of Governor Mitch Daniels' veto of HEA 1388 from 2007) of meaningful incentives for film production in Indiana.
What we have achieved:
While we still trail Iowa and Wisconsin at 25%, Illinois at 20% and soon Michigan, which is moving to 40%, Indiana will finally be on the playing field with real incentives that can help us attract new work, retain existing work we would otherwise lose, and offer graduates an opportunity to stay in Indiana and ply their trade. Our new challenge is to work with the IEDC and the Department of Revenue to facilitate access to these incentives; get the word out to the production community in-state and in LA, New York and everywhere else; make sure that the refundable tax credit is being used up to the cap; and, document the results so that we may defend our hard earned gains and work to raise the percentage and the cap in future legislative sessions.
We want to thank each member of IMIN for all that you have done over the past five years to get us to this day. There are many to thank, but particularly we need to thank Speaker Pat Bauer and Senate President Pro Tem David Long for making the override vote possible, former Rep. Jerry Denbo and current Rep. Peggy Welch for carrying this in the House, and Senators Jeff Drozda and Vi Simpson for being our champions in the Senate. Congratulations, enjoy this great success, then lets get to work to make our victory in the Legislature a reality among the production community.
Indianapolis...The Indiana Media Industry Network (IMIN), the trade association for those in film, television, music, and commercial production in Indiana, responded today to criticisms by Governor Daniels of the override of the veto of HEA 1388, the film industry production incentives bill, by the State Senate on February 14th.
"The incentives for production included in HEA 1388 are fair, reasonable and necessary to counter the loss of production to States that have already enacted aggressive incentives," said Greg Malone, President of IMIN. "Indiana has been behind other States in promoting this important industry - an industry that has created thousands of jobs, millions in investments and supported countless small businesses in their States - and with the support of 113 of the 150 members of the General Assembly, Indiana will now join them."
Passage of the override means that qualified production projects will now be able to receive a refundable tax credit of up to 15% for in- state hiring and in-state purchases, much below the 30% offered by Connecticut and South Carolina, the 25% offered by Wisconsin and Iowa, or the 20% offered by Illinois and Michigan (which will consider legislation backed by the Governor in 2008 to raise the percentage to 40% for in-State spending).
"Reports indicate that highly respected director/producer Michael Mann has signed agreements with Illinois and Wisconsin to shoot PUBLIC ENEMIES, a major motion picture about John Dillinger starring Johnny Depp, in the coming months," said Angelo Pizzo, the Screenwriter and Producer of HOOSIERS and RUDY, a supporter of the legislation. "While there may be a few days of shooting in Indiana, it is a crime that a feature about this Hoosier, whose story is so linked to our State, will mostly be filmed in neighboring States. Had this bill been signed last year, we would have had a chance at securing hundreds of jobs and a multi-million dollar budget hiring Hoosier workers and spending with Hoosier businesses."
Criticism has centered on the revenues that would be paid to production companies seeking to work in Indiana, with a figure of $30 million as the potential loss in revenues for the State. In order for that figure to be reached, however, hiring and purchasing of $200 million in direct spending, and as much as $400-500 million in indirect spending, would have to occur, all of which would be taxable under Indiana law.
"While the focus has often been on big productions, and we certainly want to attract those to our State, the vast majority of projects will be smaller budget films and advertising commercials," said Malone. "These projects spend more locally than the larger productions, and they support businesses in Indiana from small production companies to caterers, hotels, restaurants, lumber yards, and retail businesses. Rather than supporting major corporations, which is often the case with government incentives, this bill will help small entrepreneurs grow their businesses and pay taxes in Indiana."
HEA 1388, was authored by former Representative Jerry Denbo (D) and Representatives Jack Lutz (R) and Peggy Welch (D) in the House and Senators Jeff Drozda (R) and Vi Simpson (D) in the Senate during the 2007 session of the Indiana General Assembly. The original bill passed 85-11 in the House and 48-0 in the Senate. The subsequent override of the veto was passed by the House in January of 2008 by a vote of 77-17, and the Senate on Thursday by a vote of 36-11.
"With passage of the override, Indiana moves from number thirty in the nation to number sixteen of States that provide incentives to the film production industry," added Malone. "We are ready to work with the Indiana Economic Development Corporation to attract our share of these high paying, non-polluting, productions - both large and small - that will help fuel Indiana’s economy."
For a listing of states and their incentive packages, contact Greg Malone: gmalone@roadpictures.com.
Read all about it in the Indianapolis Star
The Indiana Media Industry Network (IMIN), a not-for-profit trade association representing the film, television, new media, music and commercial production industry, announces the inaugural class of historic inductees to the Indiana Performing Arts Hall of Fame (IPAHF).
They are director Robert Wise, playwright Booth Tarkington, actors Scatman Crothers, James Dean, and Steve McQueen; actresses Irene Dunne, Carole Lombard, and Marjorie Main; comedian Red Skelton, lyricist Noble Sissle, composers Hoagy Carmichael and Cole Porter, and jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery.
"Hoosiers have made enormous contributions to the performing arts dating from the earliest days of film through today," said David Smith, Chair of the IPAHF and author of Hoosiers in Hollywood. "The Hall of Fame will help our citizens learn more about our rich history and celebrate the vast talent of our native sons and daughters in the arts."
Nominations for the Indiana Performing Arts Hall of Fame were solicited from the general public and from experts in film history, theatre, music, education and film and music production. A panel representing each of these areas considered the nominations and selected the inaugural class based upon each artist’s contributions to the performing arts and to bringing honor to the State of Indiana.
An induction ceremony will take place in Indianapolis on June 19th, 2008 to honor these 13 historic inductees and 6 living ones, who will be announced next spring. A collective video tribute for the historic inductees and individual tributes for the living inductees will be presented during the ceremony.
The initial induction class includes 19 individuals, representing the 19 stars in the Indiana state flag, Indiana being the nineteenth state in the union. This larger class will kick off what will become an annual tribute to Hoosiers when 10 new inductees are added each year.
Initially, the Hall of Fame will be web-based, with the artist’s biography, photos, filmography/discography, and video and recording references. A permanent "walk of fame" with multi-media interpretation area is also planned for future development.
We've updated the legislation section with our comments on the unfortunate veto of HB1388
On April 17th, the Indiana House of Representatives by a vote of 85-11 approved changes made by the Senate to House Bill 1388, sending the measure on to Governor Mitch Daniels for his consideration. This vote is the culmination of legislative efforts over the last four years by members of the production industry in Indiana to enact substantive production incentives. The Indiana Media Industry Network was well represented in the House Gallery for the final vote, joining House Members in witnessing history as Indiana takes an important step in becoming a center for media production.
Prior to this final vote, IMIN members joined Representative Jerry Denbo (D), the author of the bill, and Senator Jeff Drozda (R), the sponsor of the bill, at a press conference with Angelo Pizzo and other filmmakers to mark the occasion. Pizzo, one of the most ardent supporters of the film production bill, said that passage would allow him to keep projects in Indiana rather than shifting production to other states. Filmmakers Betsy Blankenbaker, Margie Glover, John Blankenship and Justin Escue, all with projects with budgets ranging from $3.5 to $20 million that they want to film in Indiana, echoed their support for the bill.
The final step: consideration and signature by Governor Mitch Daniels, expected within the next two to three weeks.
The Senate just passed HB 1388 by a vote of 48-0. Many thanks to Senators Jeff Drozda and Sue Errington who spoke, and to the other co-sponsors, Senators David Ford, Jim Merritt, Vi Simpson, Lindel Hume, Tom Weatherwax and Ron Alting. The bill now is eligible for concurrence or dissent, and our House author, Representative Jerry Denbo, has agreed to concur as soon as the House starts taking up concurrences and dissents. That means that the bill will go directly to the Governor for his signature. We want to thank all of you for your input into this process and for your many contributions. We still have a little way to go, but the hard lifting is now done. We'll post it here as soon as the concurrence is approved and we are on the way to the Governor.
The Indianapolis Business Journal this week has an editorial about our cause. Click here to read it.
HB 1388 was heard in Senate Tax and Fiscal Policy on March 13th. And it appears clear that Senators Kenley (Chair) and Meeks (a Committee Member and Chair of Appropriations) are willing to do something this year for film. Senator Drozda (Senate Sponsor) and Rep. Denbo (House Author), Greg Malone, Nancy Carlson and Brian Hastler all testified for the bill. Senators Simpson and Errington came in support (Co-Sponsors) and Committee Members Weatherwax, Ford and Alting (also Co-Sponsors) spoke favorably for the bill, often making our case for us. The Indiana State Chamber and the MPAA also spoke in favor of the bill.
Kenley and Meeks, during the hearing, threw out several ideas that they are thinking about that we must now consider, and they are as follows:
It is clear that they want to work with us, we had positive reinforcement from key committee members, and we will be working over the next week to answer remaining questions and assess whether this alternative approach can work for us. Things are looking up!
HB 1388, Film Industry Production Incentives, passed out of the Indiana House on February 8 on a vote of 82 - 15. The bill now goes to the Indiana Senate, where it has been assigned to the Finance Committee, chaired by Sen. Luke Kenley (R-Noblesville).
Several amendments will need to be offered to the legislation in the Finance Committee. Those amendments will likely include expanding the types of corporate and business entities to which the incentives are offered, and the establishment of floors and ceilings (minimum and maximum expenditures in Indiana to qualify for the incentives).
Making it through the Senate will be tough. Key senators do not understand how important film, video, music and new media production is to Indiana and its future. Read the legislation summary or link to the actual bill by going to our Legislation and Government Relations page. If you agree that the bill is a good idea, please let your senator or representative know TODAY.
The Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) has funded a new study of the media production industry in Indiana. It provides an honest look at the industry in the state (right now, it's shrinking). It also proposes some ideas on building the industry (playing to our strengths in commercials, corporate, television, and smaller features). The full report will be released to the public 4:30pm, March 22nd, at the Indianapolis Arts center in Broadripple. Please attend!
The Fourth IIFF runs April 25 - May 4, with awards and the big wrap party on May 5. 130+ films from dozens of countries unspool at Keystone Landmark Art Cinemas and Indie Lounge on the Northside; Key Cinemas on the Southside; and at Herron on the IUPUI campus downtown. IMIN will be one of the Hoosier Lens sponsors; keep an eye on the Events page for screenings and, most importantly, a terrific get-together of the filmmakers and IMIN members and supporters. Read more at The IIFF homepage.
To submit your information for inclusion in the 2007 Indiana Production Sourcebook, click this link, or cut and paste it into your browser:http://image.exacttarget.com/members/28144/2007_Sourcebook_Form_NF.pdf