Sunday, March 13, 2011

Legislative update 3/13

Dear Friends,

Senate Finance is scheduled to meet today at 1pm to hear SB 613.  Senator J. A. Smith, chair of this committee, announced last night in the Senate that this Senate Finance Committee will meet after today's floor session to discuss lowering the film incentives even further to "balance the budget".  Senator Smith has never sought advice or consent from the industry, and he may be influenced by large number of people in this committee room. 

As usual, we don't know exactly what time the committee will go in, but it is currently scheduled for 1pm.

It's particularly important that we get businesses and vendors there.  If the the discussion is union vs. Governor, we're going to lose.  We cannot stress enough the need for this committee to hear from businesses.  If your business is unable to come to Santa Fe today, maybe you know of a Santa Fe based business that could sent a representative to the roundhouse this afternoon.  Please spread the word.

This is basically our last chance this year to save the film industry in New Mexico.





Please find contacts below:

Senate Finance Committee Members:
John Arthur Smith(505) 986-4365 john.smith@nmlegis.gov
Carlos R. Cisneros       (505) 986-4362        carlos.cisneros@nmlegis.gov
Rod Adair(505) 986-4385 radair@dfn.com
Pete Campos(505) 986-4311 petecampos@newmexico.com
Carroll H. Leavell(505) 986-4278 leavell4@leaco.net
Howie C. Morales(505) 986-4863 howiemorales@yahoo.com
Steven P. Neville(505) 986-4701 nmsenate@msn.com
Gerald Ortiz y Pino (505) 986-4380jortizyp@msn.com
Mary Kay Papen(505) 986-4270marykay.papen@nmlegis.gov
Nancy Rodriguez(505) 986-4264nancy.rodriguez@nmlegis.gov
Sue Wilson Beffort(505) 986-4395sue.beffort@nmlegis.gov

Easily Copy & Paste-able Email List:



Related News: 
The Governor's office finally agreed to meet with industry representatives.
After all our efforts over the last weeks, they offered an even more diminished deal than they initially did.
The first proposal from the Governor was to cut the rebate percentage to 15% from the current 25%, no cap.
The initial compromise bill agreed to by republicans and democrats in the house tax and revenue committee was keep the rebate at 25%, and impose a $60 million cap.
Behind a closed door meeting in that committee, it was decided to impose a $45 million cap instead, but leaving the rebate at 25%.
Now the Governor's proposal is to still cut the rebate to 15%, and cap it at $50 million.
This message from Governors office is:  the film industry is not welcome to do business in New Mexico.

Please watch this short video ad regarding Governor Martinez position on film before the election:
Why the cut with no review?

Please also see the open letter to the Governor and Legislators, from the Motion Picture Association of New Mexico:
March 12, 2011

An Open Letter to Majority Leader Michael Sanchez and New Mexico Legislators
Dear Mr. Sanchez: 

With all respect, the industry has been very frustrated with the process of trying to negotiate an agreement regarding New Mexico's film program with this administration.  Every time industry meets the administration's stated needs, the position changes without notice or explanation.  This has been the case repeatedly over the past seven weeks, engendering deep frustration among industry and well-intentioned representatives on both sides of the aisle seeking a fair solution.

Most recently, all major industry representatives both locally and nationally supported a plan that would limit annual credit payouts to $45-50 million, would "tier" a production's credit payout over a period of up to three years, and would protect series television production which is both long-term and encourages private investment in human and capital infrastructure in our state.

In the immediate term, that proposal would have freed up over $40 million in money for this year's budget (exceeding the stated $25mm needed by the administration), forced larger productions to absorb the time cost of capital over that time, and  provided a benchmark for future budgeting years.    Implementing these proposed measures here would have given both the administration and the legislature the necessary time and tools to get good data to assess the impact of the industry to make long-term decisions going forward --- all while not unduly harming the industry in the process.

The industry recently applauded Pennsylvania's Governor for his leadership in continuing support for the film industry as a major component of job creation.

Yet time and time again, straight-forward and workable solutions like this have been summarily rejected by the administration as it replaces stated goals with new sets of moving targets.   The rejection yesterday of the above proposal joins a growing list of reneged promises and good faith compromises between industry and the administration - most notably a campaign commitment to study the industry's impact before making decisions - a commitment that appears to have been abandoned.

With news yesterday that Los Alamos Bank has pulled funding from a proposed media infrastructure project largely due to the administration's erratic and inconsistent objectives, the message to is clear: New Mexico is closed for business. 

It has become abundantly apparent that the administration is not interested in a solution that both frees up the cash it says it needs and provides the necessary data to make justifiable decisions in the future.  Instead, its clear objective is a political victory at the expense of the thousands and thousands of jobs created by one of the state's most successful economic development initiatives (and originally championed by her GOP predecessor), and the additional thousands of young people enrolled in media arts programs in our public schools, colleges and universities whose professional future for jobs in New Mexico are now put at risk. 

At this point, MPANM continues to support Sen. Griego's 613 bill (in its original form) along with companion measures (SB44, SJM15, HB415) as the most viable way to get the legislature and administration what it needs for the budget, while giving everyone the necessary tools and time to make informed decisions going forward -- which is EXACTLY what the administration said it wanted.

Sincerely,

Motion Picture Association of New Mexico 
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