New Hanover legislators propose big increase in N.C. film grant program

Wilmington Star News


Posted Mar 24, 2017 at 12:53 PM
Updated Mar 24, 2017 at 1:24 PM

Lee, Grange sponsor bills to fund film at $55M annually.

By Tim Buckland StarNews Staff
RALEIGH -- The state's film grant program would nearly double to $55 million annually under companion bills filed Thursday by N.C. Sen. Michael Lee and N.C. Rep. Holly Grange.

"We're looking at increasing the funding and making it recurring," said Lee, R-New Hanover. "That means it will be part of the base budget every year unless somebody takes it out."

The state's funding to entice film companies began as an incentive program with no cap -- in its busiest year, the program paid film and television productions about $80 million in incentives.

Then for 2015, the General Assembly cut the program's budget to $10 million and converted it to a grant-based program. While the grant program's budget was increased to $30 million per year for 2016 and 2017, filming in the state -- and particularly Wilmington -- has nearly dried up as productions left for greener pastures in states like California and Georgia, which offer more generous funding.


http://www.starnewsonline.com/news/20170324/new-hanover-legislators-propose-big-increase-in-nc-film-grant-program