LANSING – The
decline of the state’s film incentive program to $5.9 million in the upcoming
2015-16 fiscal year will not dissuade the Michigan Film Office from doing all
it can to encourage the production of films and television programs in
Michigan, Film Office Director Jenell Leonard said Wednesday.
Leonard
declined to characterize the decision of legislators and the Snyder
administration to cut the incentive from $38 million to $25 million, with $19.1
million going to cover the state’s responsibility for debt on a Pontiac studio.
A House-Senate conference committee on Tuesday approved a budget with the
change.
“My job
right now is to ensure we’re utilizing taxpayer dollars efficiently and
effectively and working with legislators to make sure they understand the
benefits of the film and creative industries to Michigan’s economy,” she
said in an interview. “This is reality. The Legislature, they have a job
to do. And I commend them on doing their job.”
Even if
Michigan’s film incentive program ends – and the conventional wisdom is that
the upcoming budget is the beginning of the end for the program – Leonard said
the Film Office’s work will continue. She noted that for almost 30 years, the
Michigan Film Office existed and recruited productions to the state without the
incentive or its predecessor, the film tax credit.
“It’s
much more than the incentive program,” she said.
Leonard said
the office is working on how to grow the industry in Michigan without the
incentive and pointed to the office’s release last week of its strategic plan.
The state has an indigenous film community, and the office needs to foster it,
she said.
The problem
the state has had in recent years is the annual debate about ending the film
incentive, Leonard said.
She said she
would not address hypotheticals about what will or should happen to the film
incentive in the 2016-17 fiscal year budget.
This story was published by Gongwer News Service. To
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