A Message from CFA President, Linda Lee
Codification Update
The good news is that the two Provisos passed in 2015 and 2016 allowed the Film Commission to process $18,866,874 in rebates for FY 2016-17. The bad news is the Film Commission is out of money until its “bank account” is replenished on June 30, 2017.
The CFA is working hard to get S. 74 and H 3439 on the agenda. Codification will make the Provisos law and give the Film Commission the ability to recruit more film and television projects to South Carolina year round.
We did warn the Senate Finance Sub-Committee that we would be back next year to ask for more money. If anyone would like to discuss this in greater detail, I would be happy to answer any questions you may have. Feel free to get in touch.
Linda Lee
president@carolinafilm.com
On Jan. 10, Senate Bill S. 74, sponsored by Senator Paul Campbell was introduced and read for the first time, then referred to Committee on Finance.
On January 12, House Bill H 3439, sponsored by Representative Phyllis Henderson was introduced and read for the first time, then referred to Committee on Ways and Means.
On Jan. 17 at 11 AM, Linda Lee and Rhett Klok along with lobbyist Sunnie Harmon met with the Senate Finance Sub-Committee, chaired by Senator Ronnie Cromer. Thanks to Senator Paul Campbell, lobbyist Sunnie Harmon, and Toni Nance from PRT we sailed through with full support of the committee.
We moved on to the full Senate Finance Committee Meeting at 1 PM and got a little bogged down. Sometimes, opposition comes from where you least expect it. Sometimes, it is not really opposition – just more questions than could be answered in the time allowed. There were four Bills under consideration and the members were due on the Senate floor at 2 PM, so we got carried over to another meeting, which has not yet been scheduled.
We also have to get through the House Ways and Means Committee meetings, also not yet scheduled because the House is working on the budget which is always their first order of business. As soon as the Bills have passed through Committees, we will be asking you to write/call your legislators asking them to support the Bills.
Linda Lee
president@carolinafilm.com
