Senate Bill sb1756c2
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Florida Senate - 2003 CS for CS for SB 1756
By the Committees on Appropriations; Commerce, Economic
Opportunities, and Consumer Services; and Senator Saunders
309-2544-03
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to economic development;
3 amending s. 288.125, F.S.; expanding
4 applicability of the definition of the term
5 "entertainment industry"; creating s. 288.1254,
6 F.S.; creating a program under which certain
7 persons producing, or providing services for
8 the production of, filmed entertainment are
9 eligible for state financial incentives for
10 activities in or relocated to this state;
11 prescribing powers and duties of the Office of
12 Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development and
13 the Office of Film and Entertainment with
14 respect to the program; defining terms;
15 providing an application procedure and approval
16 process; prescribing limits on reimbursement;
17 requiring documentation for requested
18 reimbursement; providing for policies and
19 procedures; providing penalties for fraudulent
20 claims for reimbursement; requiring a report;
21 providing that funding is subject to
22 appropriation; providing an effective date.
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24 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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26 Section 1. Section 288.125, Florida Statutes, is
27 amended to read:
28 288.125 Definition of "entertainment industry".--For
29 the purposes of ss. 288.1251-288.1258 ss. 288.1251-288.1253,
30 the term "entertainment industry" means those persons or
31 entities engaged in the operation of motion picture or
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Florida Senate - 2003 CS for CS for SB 1756
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1 television studios or recording studios; those persons or
2 entities engaged in the preproduction, production, or
3 postproduction of motion pictures, made-for-TV motion
4 pictures, television series, commercial advertising, music
5 videos, or sound recordings; and those persons or entities
6 providing products or services directly related to the
7 preproduction, production, or postproduction of motion
8 pictures, made-for-TV motion pictures, television series,
9 commercial advertising, music videos, or sound recordings,
10 including, but not limited to, the broadcast industry.
11 Section 2. Section 288.1254, Florida Statutes, is
12 created to read:
13 288.1254 Entertainment industry financial incentive
14 program; creation; purpose; definitions; application
15 procedure; approval process; reimbursement eligibility;
16 submission of required documentation; recommendations for
17 payment; policies and procedures; fraudulent claims.--
18 (1) CREATION AND PURPOSE OF PROGRAM.--Subject to
19 specific appropriation, there is created within the Office of
20 Film and Entertainment an entertainment industry financial
21 incentive program. The purpose of this program is to encourage
22 the use of this state as a site for filming, and for providing
23 production services for, motion pictures, made-for-television
24 movies, commercials, music videos, industrial and educational
25 films, and television programs by the entertainment industry.
26 (2) DEFINITIONS.--As used in this section, the term:
27 (a) "Filmed entertainment" means a motion picture,
28 teleproduction, commercial, music video, or
29 digital-media-effects production to be sold or displayed in an
30 electronic medium.
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Florida Senate - 2003 CS for CS for SB 1756
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1 (b) "Production costs" means the total cost of
2 producing filmed entertainment.
3 (c) "Qualified expenditures" means goods purchased or
4 leased or services purchased, leased, or employed from a
5 resident of this state or a vendor or supplier who is located
6 and doing business in this state.
7 (d) "Qualified production" means filmed entertainment
8 that makes expenditures in this state for the total or partial
9 production of a motion picture, made-for-television movie with
10 a running time of 90 minutes or more, commercial, music video,
11 industrial and educational film, television series pilot, or
12 television episode. Productions that are deemed by the Office
13 of Film and Entertainment to contain obscene content, as
14 defined by the United States Supreme Court, shall not be
15 considered qualified productions.
16 (e) "Qualified relocation project" means a
17 corporation, limited liability company, partnership, corporate
18 headquarters, or other private entity that is domiciled in
19 another state or country and relocates its operations to this
20 state, is organized under the laws of this or any other state
21 or country, and includes as one of its primary purposes
22 digital-media-effects or motion picture and television
23 production, or postproduction.
24 (3) APPLICATION PROCEDURE; APPROVAL PROCESS.--
25 (a) Any company engaged in this state in producing
26 filmed entertainment may submit an application to the Office
27 of Film and Entertainment for the purpose of determining
28 qualification for receipt of reimbursement provided in this
29 section. The office must be provided information required to
30 determine if the production is a qualified production and to
31 determine the qualified expenditures, production costs, and
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Florida Senate - 2003 CS for CS for SB 1756
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1 other information necessary for the office to determine both
2 eligibility for and level of reimbursement.
3 (b) A digital-media-effects company in the state which
4 furnishes digital material to a qualified production that is
5 certified by the Office of Film and Entertainment may submit
6 an application to the Office of Film and Entertainment for the
7 purpose of determining qualification for receipt of
8 reimbursement authorized by this section. The office must be
9 provided information required to determine if the company is
10 qualified and to determine the amount of reimbursement.
11 (c) Any corporation, limited liability company,
12 partnership, corporate headquarters, or other private entity
13 domiciled in another state which includes as one of its
14 primary purposes digital-media-effects or motion picture and
15 television production and which is considering relocation to
16 this state may submit an application to the Office of Film and
17 Entertainment for the purpose of determining qualification for
18 reimbursement under this section.
19 (d)1. The Office of Film and Entertainment shall
20 establish a process by which an application is accepted and
21 reviewed and reimbursement eligibility and reimbursement
22 amount are determined. The Office of Film and Entertainment
23 may request assistance from a duly appointed local film
24 commission in determining qualifications for reimbursement and
25 compliance.
26 2. Upon determination that all criteria are met for
27 qualification for reimbursement, the office shall notify the
28 applicant of such approval. The office shall also notify the
29 Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development of the
30 applicant approval and amount of reimbursement required. The
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1 Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development shall make
2 final determination for actual reimbursement.
3 3. The Office of Film and Entertainment shall deny an
4 application if it determines that:
5 a. The application is not complete or does not meet
6 the requirements of this section; or
7 b. The reimbursement sought does not meet the
8 requirements of this section for such reimbursement.
9 (e) The Office of Film and Entertainment shall develop
10 a standardized application form for use in approving a
11 qualified production, a qualified relocation project, or a
12 company qualifying under paragraph (b). The application form
13 must include, but is not limited to, production-related
14 information on employment, proposed total production budgets,
15 planned expenditures in this state which are intended for use
16 exclusively as an integral part of preproduction, production,
17 or postproduction activities engaged in primarily in this
18 state, and a signed affirmation from the Office of Film and
19 Entertainment that the information on the application form has
20 been verified and is correct. The application form shall be
21 distributed to applicants by the Office of Film and
22 Entertainment or local film commissions.
23 (f) The Office of Film and Entertainment must complete
24 its review of each application within 5 days after receipt of
25 the completed application, including all required information,
26 and it must notify the applicant of its determination within
27 10 business days after receipt of the completed application
28 and required information.
29 (4) REIMBURSEMENT ELIGIBILITY; SUBMISSION OF REQUIRED
30 DOCUMENTATION; RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PAYMENT.--
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1 (a) A qualified production that is certified by the
2 Office of Film and Entertainment is eligible for the following
3 financial incentives from the state:
4 1. A reimbursement of up to 15 percent of its
5 qualifying expenditures within this state on that motion
6 picture, made-for-television movie with a running time of 90
7 minutes or more, commercial, music video, industrial film,
8 educational film, television series pilot, or television
9 episode that demonstrates a minimum of $850,000 in total
10 qualified expenditures. However, the maximum reimbursement
11 that may be made with respect to a motion picture is $2
12 million, the maximum reimbursement that may be made with
13 respect to a made-for-television movie or television series
14 pilot with a running time of 90 minutes or more is $450,000,
15 the maximum reimbursement that may be made with respect to any
16 single television series pilot or television episode is
17 $150,000, the maximum reimbursement that may be made with
18 respect to a music video or commercial is $25,000, and the
19 maximum reimbursement that may be made with respect to an
20 industrial film or an educational film is $15,000. All noted
21 reimbursements are subject to appropriation. Payments under
22 this section in a fiscal year shall be made on a first-come,
23 first-served basis until the appropriation for that fiscal
24 year is exhausted. Subject to subsequent appropriations, the
25 eligibility of qualified productions shall carry over from
26 year to year. The Office of Film and Entertainment shall
27 develop a procedure to ensure that qualified productions
28 continue on a reasonable schedule until completion. If a
29 qualified production is not continued according to a
30 reasonable schedule, the office shall withdraw its eligibility
31 and reallocate the funds to other qualified productions.
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1 2. Qualified expenditures for which reimbursement
2 shall be made include salaries and employment benefits paid
3 for services rendered within this state; rents for real and
4 personal property used in the production; payments for
5 preproduction, production, postproduction, and
6 digital-media-effects services rendered within this state; and
7 cost of set construction. Reimbursement may not be authorized
8 for salaries of the two highest-paid actors. Salaries of other
9 actors are reimbursable.
10 (b) A digital-media-effects company in the state which
11 furnishes digital material to a qualified production that is
12 certified by the Office of Film and Entertainment may be
13 eligible for a payment in an amount not to exceed 5 percent of
14 its annual gross revenues on qualified expenditures listed in
15 subparagraph (a)2. before taxes or $100,000, whichever is
16 less. A company applying for payment must submit documentation
17 annually as required by the Office of Film and Entertainment
18 for determination of eligibility of claimed billing and
19 determination of the amount of payment for which the company
20 is eligible.
21 (c) A qualified relocation project that is certified
22 by the Office of Film and Entertainment is eligible for a
23 one-time incentive payment in an amount equal to 5 percent of
24 its annual gross revenues before taxes for the first 12 months
25 of conducting business in its Florida domicile or $200,000,
26 whichever is less. A company applying for payment must submit
27 documentation as required by the Office of Film and
28 Entertainment for determination of eligibility of claimed
29 billing and determination of the amount of payment for which
30 the company is eligible.
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Florida Senate - 2003 CS for CS for SB 1756
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1 (d) A qualified production, a digital-media-effects
2 company, or a qualified relocation project applying for a
3 payment under this section must submit documentation for
4 claimed qualified expenditures to the Office of Film and
5 Entertainment.
6 (e) The Office of Film and Entertainment shall notify
7 the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development whether
8 an applicant meets the criteria for reimbursement and shall
9 recommend the reimbursement amount. The Office of Tourism,
10 Trade, and Economic Development shall make the final
11 determination for actual reimbursement.
12 (5) POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.--The Office of Tourism,
13 Trade, and Economic Development shall adopt policies and
14 procedures to implement this section, including, but not
15 limited to, requirements for the application and approval
16 process, records required for submission for substantiation
17 for reimbursement, and determination of and qualification for
18 reimbursement.
19 (6) FRAUDULENT CLAIMS.--An eligible entity or company
20 that obtains a payment under this section through a claim that
21 it knows is fraudulent is liable for reimbursement of the
22 amount paid plus a penalty in an amount double the payment and
23 reimbursement of reasonable costs, which penalty is in
24 addition to any criminal penalty to which the entity or
25 company is liable for the same acts. The entity or company is
26 also liable for costs and fees incurred by the state in
27 investigating and prosecuting the fraudulent claim.
28 (7) ANNUAL REPORT.--The Office of Film and
29 Entertainment shall provide an annual report due January 1, to
30 the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of
31 the House of Representatives outlining the return on
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1 investment to the state on funds expended pursuant to this
2 section.
3 Section 3. Annual funding for the entertainment
4 industry financial incentive program is subject to legislative
5 appropriation.
6 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2003.
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8 STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
9 Senate Bill CS/SB 1756
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11 The committee substitute removes the $20 million General
Revenue appropriation and provides that annual funding for the
12 entertainment industry financial incentive program is subject
to legislative appropriation.
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