Making movies: Michigan film incentive program likely to stay at $50 million as part of budget plan
Michigan's film incentive program could remain at $50 million next fiscal year. That’s the general consensus among Republican leaders after they agreed to broad budget targets this week. Lawmakers in the Republican-led Legislature are expected to start voting on final versions of budget bills soon.
"I think that the industry in order to be sustained has to stay at the current level of $50 million,” Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville, R-Monroe, said this week after budget targets were agreed upon by Republican legislative leaders and Gov. Rick Snyder’s administration. “I don’t think there was any strong objection to that.”
Kurt Weiss, a spokesman for Snyder’s budget office, also said that there is agreement to keep the film incentive program at $50 million.
The next fiscal year begins Oct. 1.
Michigan once had one of the nation’s most aggressive film incentive programs, but that has been more limited in recent years. The program is set at $50 million in the current fiscal year.
Earlier this year, Snyder had proposed limiting the program to $25 million for next fiscal year. A preliminary version of the budget in the House would have cut the program more than that. But it now appears the program will remain at its current levels.
Richardville said changes have been made in recent years designed to help make sure more of the incentive money comes back to or stays with the Michigan economy.
The state approved more than $408 million worth of film incentives on more than $1 billion in estimated expenditures from April 2008 through September 2012. As of March 2012, about $161 million in incentives had been paid out
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