State and local leaders gathered with film and television industry representatives in Glendale this week to announce a renewed push for legislation that would create the first-ever federal tax incentive aimed at bringing entertainment production back to the United States. Supporters say the bill would put Americans back to work on the kinds of productions that have increasingly fled the country in recent years.
The gathering centered on the Motion Picture, Television, and Entertainment Revitalization Act, a bipartisan, bicameral bill introduced in Congress on September 24, led by Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Rep. Nathaniel Moran (R-Texas), Rep. Laura Friedman (D-Calif.), and Rep. Linda Sánchez (D-Calif.), according to Sen. Tim Scott's office. As reported by CBS LA, Schiff told the Glendale crowd that supporters have never been closer to passing a federal tax credit for the industry. The bill is designed to compete with roughly 65 countries that currently offer production incentives unavailable in the U.S., per the same report.
How the Credit Would Work
Under the proposal, productions would receive a base credit worth 20% of compensation paid for services performed in the United States, with the percentage rising in 5% increments when certain qualifying conditions are met, CBS LA reports. Those bonus conditions include filming at least 30% of a production in a federally declared disaster area or a rural qualified opportunity zone, independently produced projects, film companies that increase domestic production relative to previous foreign investment, and multistate productions. Rep. Laura Friedman told the outlet that productions using U.S.-based workers would receive the credit while those that moved work elsewhere would not.
Separately, the Los Angeles Times reports that to qualify, productions must incur at least 75% of their principal photography days in the United States and maintain a total budget exceeding $1 million, thresholds the Los Angeles Times says are designed to prevent runaway foreign production from qualifying. Rep. Linda Sánchez said productions would be able to stack the federal incentive on top of existing state or local incentives, according to CBS LA, and the bill's backers argue it would also help bring economic activity back to regions recovering after a federally declared disaster.
Unions Say the Stakes Are Steep
SAG-AFTRA, which has lobbied for a federal film production incentive, has thrown its support behind the bill. SAG-AFTRA President Sean Astin said the U.S. entertainment industry has lost 30% of its value since the peak of the streaming expansion in 2022, as productions moved overseas to exploit foreign tax credits, according to a statement from SAG-AFTRA, which represents roughly 160,000 performers.
The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, representing more than 170,000 behind-the-scenes crew members, has designated passage of the federal tax credit its top federal legislative priority for 2026 and launched a nationwide grassroots campaign pushing for congressional action before year's end, per IATSE. Rep. Friedman said more than 143,000 American jobs would be added in the bill's first year if it passes, a figure that aligns with an economic analysis prepared by EY Quantitative Economics and Statistics for Hollywood guilds and the Motion Picture Association, which projected the credit would generate 143,500 full-time equivalent jobs annually and $133 billion in U.S. worker wages over ten years, as cited by U.S. House Representative Laura Friedman's office.
A Political Coalition Years in the Making
The push has drawn support across party lines, including from former President Donald Trump, who publicly endorsed creating a federal film production tax credit in August after discussions with Hollywood ambassador Jon Voight and media executives including Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos and Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel, according to the Los Angeles Times. The proposal represents a unified effort by entertainment labor unions, major studios represented by the MPA and Paramount, and a bipartisan group of federal lawmakers to stem the decades-long flow of film and TV production out of the country.
California has offered state film production incentives for years, and the proposed federal bill would allow California and other states to help retain American production jobs, according to CBS LA. Under Assembly Bill 1138, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, the state expanded its Film and Television Tax Credit Program from $330 million to $750 million annually starting July 1, 2025, with Program 4.0 awarding 170 projects projected to bring $6.6 billion in direct economic activity, per CalChamber. Newsom signed additional legislation on September 19 expanding the state's incentive program to include a dedicated credit for post-production work covering editing, sound, and visual effects, according to the Office of Governor Gavin Newsom.
Why Local Officials Say Urgency Is Growing
Even with California's expanded credit, on-location shoot days in Greater Los Angeles fell 12% year-over-year in the second quarter of 2026 to 4,711 days, remaining 36% below the region's five-year average, according to TheWrap, citing FilmLA's monitoring of permitted filming across Los Angeles County. That decline underscores why local officials argue state credits alone haven't been enough to offset global production flight, even as states continue competing individually: Hoodline previously reported that Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer signed legislation establishing a $10 million state film tax credit offering a 30% transferable credit to compete with neighboring states, with an application portal that opened retroactively to July 2026.
Whether the Motion Picture, Television, and Entertainment Revitalization Act can clear a divided Congress before the current session ends remains an open question, as does how quickly studios would shift greenlighting strategies back to domestic soundstages if the credit becomes law. For now, the Glendale gathering marked another milestone in a campaign that unions, studios, and lawmakers from both parties describe as closer to the finish line than ever before.
