The DGA understands that many of our members are concerned about the dramatic reduction in film and television production across the industry. We wanted to update you on what your Guild is doing to promote production and recent progress made on the "Keep California Rolling" campaign and the New York Film & Television Incentive.
California Updates:
July 3, 2025 — Following California Governor Gavin Newsom’s signing into law the doubling of funding for the California Film and Television Jobs Program from $330 million to $750 million on Wednesday, today the California Assembly and Senate approved the programmatic changes to extend and expand the state’s Film and Television Tax Credit Program. This is the final step in a year-long fight for the expansion and modernization of the California Film & Television Jobs Program.
The bill also introduces key updates to keep production, below-the-line jobs and investments rooted in California.
July 1, 2025 — On June 24, the California Legislature’s Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review introduced a series of trailer bills which included $750 million in annual funding for our California Film and Television Jobs Program. The bills moved to the budget committee June 25 and was forwarded to the Senate Rev & Tax Committee where it was unanimously forwarded to the full Assembly & Senate for a final vote.
DGA Western Executive Director Rebecca Rhine joined the bill’s authors, Assemblymember Rick Zbur and Senator Ben Allen, in testifying in order to push them through, understanding the impact that both the expansion and modernization of our program will have on working families to retain and bring back good quality jobs in our industry.
On June 27, the “Keep California Rolling” campaign announced that our member voices and collective activism has secured the funding of our California Film and Television Jobs Program in the 2025-2026 state budget.
The Program will now grow from $330 million to $750 million annually. This increase will be effective immediately upon Governor Newsom’s signature which we expect to take place as early as this week. The increased annual amount will continue through the program’s current extension to 2031.
New York Update:
In New York, Eastern Executive Director Neil Dudich and our partners in the New York Film & Television Union Coalition were instrumental in advocating for substantial improvements to the state’s Film & Television Incentive.
The enacted NY State Budget for FY 2026 strengthens the existing film production and post-production incentives and introduces new enhancements designed at attracting more production to New York.
The budget includes an expansion of the expenses eligible for the credit, much quicker realization of the tax credit for producers, a two-year extension of the funding allocation, and a new $100 million fund dedicated to the cultivation of independent film. These changes and others will immediately and significantly improve the competitiveness of New York’s incentive and help lure more production, jobs and economic activity to New York.
The New York Film & Television Union Coalition and the New York State AFL-CIO, representing tens of thousands of union workers in New York, applauds Governor Hochul and the Legislature for their continued support of the film and television production industry.
Previous Announcements
Global Production Update
First, we want to offer some perspective about where we see the industry. We are experiencing the most significant global reduction in film and television production in a lifetime. The studios and streamers have pulled back on content spending, reducing both the number of films and television programs they produce and the amount they are spending on those programs they continue to produce. This global contraction has resulted in a 9% reduction in feature film production from 2022 to 2024, and a 32% reduction in episodic television production for the same period. Production is down in every major production center, domestically and internationally. As the number of film and television programs being produced decreases, those projects leaving the United States to chase foreign production incentives become even more significant.
Our goal is to level the playing field so that the decision where a film and television production is shot is based solely on the creative decisions. This will require action at local, state and federal levels in the form of tax incentives and other reforms like friendlier permitting that make shooting easier and more financially attractive. The DGA is laser focused on all levels to make sure these incentive programs are designed to maximize job creation and job protection efforts.
Federal Efforts
The DGA sees a federal tax incentive as an integral part of our efforts to make the U.S. film and television industry more competitive globally. We welcome this new conversation in Washington, DC about creating that level playing field.
Even before the Voight proposal was released, DGA National Executive Director Russell Hollander and Director of Government Affairs Mike Stoever were in Washington, DC, meeting with policymakers and our lobbyists about how to drive a greater coordinated effort in Congress to pass a comprehensive film and television tax incentive.
We began work on a comprehensive set of federal incentives – some which can be accomplished immediately in the ongoing reconciliation effort or through executive order and others that take longer as they require Congressional action.
One of the most important components is a true federal incentive that will spur American jobs and economic development and be stackable with incentives currently in place at the state level, helping to combat the flow of production heading overseas.
We have also advocated for the reauthorization of the nation’s existing 20-year-old federal tax deduction for domestic production, known as Section 181, which is a broad-based policy solution that represents an important step in helping to keep jobs in America. We are also advocating for Congress to adopt a domestic manufacturing and production incentive to encourage more domestic employment, including in film and television productions produced within the U.S. and made by American workers.
Finally, we have met multiple times with Jon Voight and his team on their proposal and recently co-authored a letter of support signed by the industry urging action. We will continue to work with the administration to help develop and pass a meaningful federal package that will create more jobs for our members.
