Diversity Requirements For California’s $330M Annual Film & TV Tax Credits Poised To Become Law

deadline.com:

Hollywood soon might be required to do more than just talk about the importance of diversity in the industry, if a new addition to an extension of California’s lucrative film and television tax credits becomes law.With new provisions added Wednesday, the latest version of Senate Bill 485 (read it here) wending its way through the state Assembly in Sacramento and toward a second reading makes it very clear that productions need to widen their demographic aperture if they want to be eligible for big-bucks incentives from the Golden State.

Almost certain to be signed by re-election seeking Gov. Gavin Newsom as a part of the overall legislation extending the $330 million annual tax credits until 2030, the addition that passed a vital vote on reads:This bill, for credit allocations made on or after July 1, 2023, would revise the definition of qualified motion picture for purposes of the credit to require an applicant to provide a diversity workplan that includes goals that are broadly reflective of California’s population, as specified, and would require the commission to approve or reject each diversity workplan, to the extent allowed by federal and state law.

The bill would prohibit the commission from certifying the tax credit for an applicant required to provide a diversity workplan until the commission receives the applicant’s final diversity report, and would authorize the commission to increase the applicant’s credit percentage if the commission determines that the applicant has met or made a good faith effort to meet the diversity goals in its diversity workplan (read the whole bill here).One of the bipartisan bill’s primary sponsors told Deadline today that it was time for Tinseltown to if they wanted taxpayers’