Push to undo film cap on TV series

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - From "Breaking Bad" to "In Plain Sight," television series are considered the bread and butter of New Mexico's film industry, but a renewed effort to bring more TV shows here is running into trouble.

Gov. Susana Martinez and the legislature compromised to keep film rebates at 25 percent with a $50 million cap on payouts two years ago to balance the budget. But industry insiders are hoping to undo part of it to exempt TV productions from the cap.

"TVs are like 26 mini movies a year," said Local 480 President Jon Hendry. "They shoot for 12-14 days at a time, they are here year round, it's a full time work force. Ninety-five percent of them are New Mexicans. TV has much more of a footprint (in New Mexico)."

As part of the incentive program, productions get a quarter back of what they spend in the state. But because those payouts are capped at $50 million, Hendry said it's crippling business. Hendry said little money is left for TV productions once big budget movies cash in.

For example, "The Avengers" got a cash rebate of $22 million, nearly half of what's available each year.

"Two big superhero movies a year and that (money is) gone. Then no one else can shoot," said Hendry. "The problem with TV is they're not coming here to shoot a movie and be gone in 6 months or a year. They want to be here for five years. Right now, the way the law is set up, it could be 8 or 9 years before they get the money back."

But Gov. Susana Martinez and some lawmakers disagree. They said all productions will eventually get their rebate money under the state's rolling cap, but they may just have to wait a year or two. According to the New Mexico Film Office, all payouts that are more than $5 million will be made in three payments over two years. Payments between $2-$4 million will be made in two payments over one year.

Opponents of the new proposal said the state needs a hard cap on payouts because the state can't balance the budget if it doesn't know what it's going to be paying out to Hollywood.

"It's absolutely essential that we know what it's going to cost and what we get in return for that cost," said Rep. Larry Larranaga, R-Albuquerque.

A spokesperson for the governor's office also said New Mexico's incentive program is one of the most competitive in the nation.

"The compromise not only preserved the incentive rate at 25%, which is among the most competitive in the country, but it provided for the predictability that we must have in our state budget to ensure that we're adequately funding education, health care, and other priorities year to year," said spokesman Scott Darnell. "That sort of predictability did not exist prior to the compromise legislation, and it created great challenges for the state budget when it came to funding important priorities."

Hendry said if the state doesn't exempt TV series from the cap, then the cap should be increased.

"At a minimum, we need to put in an annual cost of living increase in that cap. With inflation, that cap is going to get smaller and smaller and smaller every year," said Hendry.