NM House OKs larger subsidy for TV production

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Television shows filmed in New Mexico could qualify for larger tax incentives under a proposal the state House unanimously approved Wednesday in hopes of bringing more long-running TV series and their jobs to the state.

The award-winning series "Breaking Bad" is set in Albuquerque and filming a fifth and final season. One of its actors, Steven Michael Quezada, sat in the House chamber as lawmakers debated the measure.

New Mexico offers a 25 percent tax refund for certain film and TV production expenses.

Under the legislation, the incentive would increase to 30 percent for a TV show producing at least six episodes in New Mexico. The extra 5 percent also would be offered for film and TV projects that spend an extended time in New Mexico doing their main photography at one of the state's film studios.

Quezada, a New Mexico actor who won a seat on the Albuquerque school board, said in an interview that the higher incentives should encourage more TV series to come to the state.

"It's a great investment. It's a long-term thing," he said.

"Breaking Bad" follows Bryan Cranston's character Walter White, who produces and sells methamphetamine with a former student. Quezada plays DEA agent Steven Gomez.

In 2011, the state imposed a $50 million annual limit on the tax credits provided for all film and TV projects. However, the legislation will allow unused subsidies to be carried over to the next year. That could mean that more than $50 million would be available in some years.

The cap was established when New Mexico faced a budget squeeze and state officials wanted more control over the costs of the film incentives.

The state provided about $96 million in film and TV tax refunds in the 2011 budget year, as production companies rushed to receive payments before the $50 million limit took effect. The state paid out about $9.5 million in 2012, and the New Mexico Film Office estimates the incentives could reach about $45 million this year.

The proposed incentives will "send a clear and strong message to the industry that the government of the state of New Mexico welcomes the film industry and also wants more TV production filmed here locally as well," said Rep. Antonio "Moe" Maestas, an Albuquerque Democrat who sponsored the proposal.

The measure heads to the Senate, where a similar proposal has cleared one committee.

Bill designed to lure more TV series to N.M.

From The Santa Fe New Mexican, by Steve Terrell, 

 SANTA FE — Call it the "'Breaking Bad' Bill."

In a bill meant to spur more production of television series in New Mexico, Rep. Antonio "Moe" Maestas, D-Albuquerque is proposing bigger film-incentive rebates for television series.

"TV series are good for job creation and sustained economic growth," Maestas told reporters Monday. "TV series that are successful stay around for several years. Movies come and go."

Longer series mean more job security for New Mexico crews, Maestas said.

The legislator said his House Bill 379 is meant to attract more series like AMC's critically acclaimed "Breaking Bad" and USA Network's "In Plain Sight."

Both series, shot primarily in Albuquerque, lasted five seasons.

HB 379 also would allow the state to carry forward unused film tax credit production funds from previous years, if the state spent less than the current $50 million annual cap. For example, if the state spent only $40 million on the rebates one year, the next year the cap would go up to $60 million.

The bill appears to have legs. One good sign for it was that it only received one committee assignment in the House, to the House Taxation and Revenue Committee.

And Gov. Susana Martinez, who hasn't been one of the biggest backers of the film incentive program in the past, supports at least part of the bill.

"The governor fully supports carrying over unused film incentives from one year to the next," Martinez's spokesman, Enrique Knell, said Monday. It allows us to maximize use of the fund while providing budget certainty."

But, Martinez hasn't committed to support the other part of the legislation.

"We haven't seen the bill yet, and haven't reviewed the proposal to increase the rebate level to 30 percent," Knell said. "That's something we will have to look at."

Martinez in 2011 spent much of her first legislative session criticizing the film incentive program. She frequently made statements like, "I'm not willing to give Hollywood a 25 percent subsidy on the backs of our kids."

However, since the Legislature agreed to the cap on the program that year, she has warmed up to the film industry.

The final eight episodes of Breaking Bad, the story of an Albuquerque high-school science teacher turned methamphetamine producer, will be aired later this year.

Another series, being shot in Las Vegas, N.M., is the A&E network's "Longmire," a crime drama in its second season.

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