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Do you enjoy movies and television shows ostensibly set in Washington yet are filled with 400-foot tall office towers and the storefronts of Baltimore’s Federal Hill and Mount Vernon? Well, the Maryland House of Delegates has good news.
Legislators yesterday passed a bill that will triple the state’s film incentive program from $7.5 million to $25 million, making the production of Washington-set series like Veep and House of Cards all the more ensconced in their Baltimore sound stages. The bill, which was approved by the Maryland Senate in February, is now on its way to Gov. Martin O’Malley, who requested the increase in his fiscal 2014 budget.
Any film or television series that spends at least $500,000 in the state will be eligible for the tax credit. The expanded funding takes effect at the beginning of the new fiscal year on July 1, and runs through the end of fiscal 2016.
While the House of Delegates vote was overwhelmingly in favor of boosting the incentive program, The Capital Gazette reports that many Republicans were doubtful of its use in helping Maryland:
Del. Herb McMillan, R-Annapolis, pointed out that the fiscal note provided by the Department of Legislative Services said the bill “will have minimal or no economic impact on Maryland small business.”
“What data do we have that shows the measurable impact this had on any small business? Can you share any data that shows any Maryland jobs were created as a result of this film tax credit?” McMillan asked.
Proponents of the bill offered a vendor list for productions that they said included many Maryland small businesses.
But despite some legislators’ qualms, the bill keeps Maryland well ahead of the District in being attractive to movie producers. Though plenty of movies and shows drop into D.C. for quick establishing shots, the District’s lack of a film incentive fund, which expired in 2010, has only encouraged Hollywood to fake D.C. in other cities, frequently Baltimore.
Councilmember Vincent Orange (D-At Large) proposed a bill last year that would have replenished D.C.’s film tax credit program by collecting a small percentage of city grants to contractors, but the proposal was quickly dismissed.