Local officials were celebrating Saturday after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill that creates a first-of-its kind tax credit to support entertainment workers in all areas of post-production, including picture editorial, sound, music, visual effects and finishing.

Newsom signed the bill at the Television Academy in North Hollywood on Friday.

“This is a big victory in our fight to save California’s entertainment industry, and we’re just getting started,” said Assemblyman Nick Schultz, D-Burbank, who authored Assembly Bill 2319 and lobbied along with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and other elected officials for Newsom to sign it. “This program will literally save jobs here in Los Angeles and across the state, and I’m grateful for Governor Newsom’s support. When California competes, we all win.”

The bill provides a 35% to 50% credit on qualified expenses specific to post-production in California. The state already has a film and TV tax credit program that covers post-production, but only if 75% of the filming or the overall budget is spent in the state. The new credit does not require productions to film in the state.

Schultz initially proposed a $100 million for the credit, but legislators ultimately decided to start with $10 million.

The bill goes into effect on Jan. 1.

Newsom also signed Senate Bill 186, authored by state Sen. Ben Allen, D-El Segundo. It exempts independent film projects from the state’s $5 million corporate tax credit cap, accelerates the payback period for productions that monetize refundable tax credits from five years to two years, and extends the expiration date for older, non-refundable tax credits from nine years to 15 years.

California also recently expanded its film and TV tax credit program from $330 million to $750 million through June 30, 2030.

“California is the nation’s entertainment capital. It is the home of storytellers, dreamers, artists, entrepreneurs and creators who define culture for the rest of the world,” Newsom said in a statement. “This legislation protects the extraordinary people who make this industry possible and makes it unmistakably clear: California is still the future of film and television. We have the talent. We have the infrastructure. We have the creative community. And we have an ecosystem that simply cannot be replicated anywhere else.”

Newsom’s office said that since the expansion of the film and TV tax credit program, he has announced 170 projects that together are expected to bring more than $6.6 billion in economic activity and nearly 35,000 cast and crew jobs across California.

The governor also visited the Burbank set of HBO Max’s Emmy-winning drama “The Pitt” on Friday “to see the impact this program is having,” according to his office.

“This is an historic day for Hollywood,” Bass said. “I want to thank Governor Newsom for continuing to be a champion of L.A.’s entertainment industry and joining us in our work to ensure that Los Angeles remains the entertainment capital of the world. … For too long, hardworking Angelenos suffered from inaction from City Hall and Sacramento to protect our local entertainment jobs. These jobs do more than pay the bills — they put food on the table for families, support local businesses and train our future creative workforce. I’m proud we’re setting a new direction by working alongside industry leaders to cut filming fees locally, expand state-level incentives and work aggressively to bring protections back to Los Angeles.”

Los Angeles City Councilwoman Nithya Raman also praised the legislation, saying the measures were needed to stem the loss of entertainment industry jobs in the region.

“Hollywood jobs are critical to Los Angeles and we are losing far too many of them,” Raman said. “AB 186 and AB 2319 are urgently needed steps to bring production back to California and keep the editors, visual-effects artists, musicians, sound professionals and craftspeople who finish that work employed here.

“I’m grateful to Governor Newsom, the legislature and everyone who helped move these bills into law. Los Angeles must build on this progress and keep fighting to bring Hollywood jobs back home, from the first day of filming through the final cut.”

MyNewsLA.com

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