SACRAMENTO, CA - Senator Suzette Martinez Valladares (R–Santa Clarita) was joined by several of her colleagues in the California Legislature in sending a letter urging House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune to move forward on the Motion Picture, Television, and Entertainment Revitalization Act, a bipartisan federal bill aimed at keeping film and TV production in America.
All the legislators who signed the letter were co-authors of AB 1138, the California State Tax Incentive measure recently signed by Governor Newsom. The federal tax incentive would work with the state incentive to keep production in the US and in California.
The federal bill would provide a 20% federal tax credit for productions that spend at least $1 million and shoot at least 75% of principal photography in the U.S. Some productions, including independent films, projects in rural or disaster-affected areas, and multi-state productions, could qualify for credits as high as 30%.
"For California, film and television production is far more than a signature industry. It's an economic engine that supports skilled trades, middle-class jobs, and thousands of businesses throughout our state," the legislators wrote.
In the letter, the legislators make the point that when a production picks California, the money doesn't stay on the studio lot. It flows out to electricians, carpenters, drivers, set builders, costume designers, and to the restaurants, hotels, equipment rental shops, and hardware stores that keep production running. When that work moves overseas instead, those are the jobs and paychecks that disappear first.
The federal credit is also designed to work alongside California's own production incentives, adding another layer of support on top of what the state has already built.
"Given the significant economic role film and television production plays in California and across the country," the letter reads, "we respectfully ask you to give the Motion Picture, Television, and Entertainment Revitalization Act prompt consideration."
The letter was sent September 28, 2026.