Bill Text: HI SB1237 | 2023 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Relating To The Hawaii Film Industry.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2023-03-09 - Referred to ECD, FIN, referral sheet 17 [SB1237 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2023-SB1237-Amended.html
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THE SENATE |
S.B. NO. |
1237 |
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THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2023 |
S.D. 1 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO THE HAWAII FILM INDUSTRY.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
The purpose of this Act is to:
(1) Establish the Hawaii film commission;
(2) Establish
a new film studio tax credit;
(3) Amend the administration and extend the sunset date of the motion picture, digital media, and film production income tax credit to January 1, 2038;
(4) Request and appropriate funds for the auditor to conduct a performance and financial audit of the Hawaii state film office;
(5) Transfer the rights, powers, functions, and duties of the Hawaii state film office to the Hawaii film commission; and
(6) Appropriate funds for one full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) executive director position within the Hawaii film commission.
SECTION 2. Chapter 201, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:
"§201- Hawaii film commission; established. (a) There is established within
the department of business, economic development, and tourism for
administrative purposes only a commission to be known as the Hawaii film
commission. The commission shall consist
of five members who shall be appointed by the governor in the manner prescribed
in section 26-34, except as otherwise provided in this section; provided that:
(1) One member shall reside in the county of Hawaii;
(2) One member shall reside in the city and county of Honolulu;
(3) One
member shall reside in the county of Kauai;
(4) One member shall reside in the county of Maui; and
(5) The director of business, economic
development, and tourism or the director's designated representative shall
serve as an ex officio, voting member of the commission.
(b) Each member identified in paragraphs (1)
through (4) of subsection (a) shall have knowledge, interest, and proven
expertise in one or more of the following fields:
(1) Accounting;
(2) Banking;
(3) Corporate management;
(4) Finance;
(5) Film production;
(6) Management;
(7) Marketing and promotion; or
(8) Real
estate.
(c) Members shall be subject to the gift
reporting requirements of section 84-11.5.
(d) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the
commission shall be subject to chapter 92.
(e) The commission shall appoint an executive director and other additional personnel as necessary to enable the commission to perform the duties of the commission. Employees of the commission shall be exempt from chapter 76.
(f) The commission shall establish the
compensation of the executive director and other commission personnel.
(g) The executive director shall:
(1) Report to the commission; and
(2) Be subject to the oversight of the
commission."
SECTION 3. Chapter 235, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:
"§235- Film studio tax credit. (a) There shall be allowed to each taxpayer
subject to the taxes imposed by this chapter, an income tax credit that shall
be deductible from the taxpayer's net income tax liability, if any, imposed by
this chapter for the taxable year in which the credit is properly claimed.
In the case of a partnership, S
corporation, estate, trust, the tax credit allowable is for film studio costs
incurred by the entity for the taxable year.
The cost upon which the tax credit is computed shall be determined at
the entity level. Distribution and share
of credit shall be determined by rule.
If a deduction is taken under section
179 (with respect to election to expense depreciable business assets) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, no tax credit shall be allowed for
that portion of the film studio costs for which the deduction is taken.
The basis of eligible property for
depreciation or accelerated cost recovery system purposes for state income
taxes shall be reduced by the amount of credit allowable and claimed. In the alternative, the taxpayer shall treat
the amount of the credit allowable and claimed as a taxable income item for the
taxable year in which it is properly recognized under the method of accounting
used to compute taxable income.
(b)
The amount of the credit shall be per
cent of film studio costs incurred during the taxable year for each film studio
located in Hawaii.
(c)
The credit allowed under this section shall be claimed against the net
income tax liability for the taxable year.
(d) The director of taxation:
(1) Shall
prepare any forms that may be necessary to claim a tax credit under this
section;
(2) May
require the taxpayer to furnish reasonable information to ascertain the
validity of the claim for the tax credit made under this section; and
(3) May
adopt rules under chapter 91 necessary to effectuate the purposes of this
section.
(e) If the tax credit under this section exceeds
the taxpayer's income tax liability, the excess of the credit over liability
may be used as a credit against the taxpayer's income tax liability in
subsequent years until exhausted.
All
claims for the tax credit under this section, including amended claims, shall
be filed on or before the end of the twelfth month following the close of the
taxable year for which the credit may be claimed. Failure to comply with the foregoing
provision shall constitute a waiver of the right to claim the credit.
(f)
No taxpayer that claims a credit under this section shall claim any
other credit for the same film studio costs under this chapter.
(g)
This section shall not apply to taxable years beginning after December
31, .
(h) As used in this section:
"Film studio costs" means
costs incurred after , to
plan, design, and construct film studio infrastructure.
"Film studio infrastructure"
means:
(1) A large area of external works with significant areas of hard standing adjacent to the studios for production companies' support gallery vans, trailers, general parking and back lots;
(2) Permanent
space for:
(A) Actors, presenters, and other on‑screen personnel, including dressing rooms, hair and make-up areas, green rooms;
(B) Catering and laundry facilities; and
(C) Production spaces, including editing suites, galleries, screening room and control rooms;
(3) Spaces
for:
(A) Set design and set building;
(B) Costume planning and script writing;
(C) Set building workshops located next to the studio or stage that
they are supporting; and
(D) Office accommodation for pre‑production activities,
regardless of whether they are in a single location and adjacent to individual studios or stages, or spread across the development;
(4) Sound insulation required between studios and other spaces inside and outside the building, or acoustic isolation to avoid bleed into the space from nearby traffic or industrial activity;
(5) Electrical
power infrastructure:
(A) To support demand of up to one megawatt in a standard thirty-thousand foot production stage;
(B) That is provided in a dimmer room that is duplicated within the
stages;
(C) Through which power connectivity is typically delivered via a
combination of various-sized commando sockets and Powerlock 400A connectors;
(D) That, to the extent necessary to respond to high electrical
loads, employs backup generators and a high-voltage power network; and
(E) That employs a utility-owned high-voltage substation as the point of connection to the studio site;
(6) Potable
water and fire system infrastructures that employ:
(A) A single point of connection, which is then distributed across
the development, unless this configuration is inappropriate for the purposes of
the studio;
(B) A fire hydrant network to comply with applicable laws, and fed
either by:
(i) A direct connection to the private network from the utility
provider, dependent on guaranteed flow rate and pressure; or
(ii) An indirect connection to the private network via storage tanks
and a booster set; and
(C) A sprinkler system,
to the extent appropriate for the
purposes of a studio;
(7) Heating
infrastructure for a studio;
(8) Ventilation
or cooling infrastructure for a production stage, through the use of
displacement ventilation through low-level displacement outlets;
(9) Information and communications technology and data infrastructure that:
(A) Ensures the provision of a site-wide information and communications technology network, with appropriate storage capabilities;
(B) Provides pre-production and post-production facilities with
connectivity, as appropriate; and
(C) Provides wi-fi connectivity across the site; and
(10) Security
infrastructure that provides perimeter protection that includes:
(A) Secure perimeter fencing, to provide a physical and visual
barrier;
(B) Perimeter closed circuit television to monitor activities around
the site boundary;
(C) External lighting to provide secure and safe routes around the
development and improved visibility for closed circuit television monitoring;
and
(D) Secure and managed entrances and exits for the site, to monitor
all access.
"Net income tax liability" means income tax liability reduced by all other credits allowed under this chapter."
SECTION 4. Section 23-92, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (c) to read as follows:
"(c) This section shall apply to the following:
(1) Sections 235-12.5 and 241-4.6--Credit for renewable energy technology system installed and placed in service in the State. For the purpose of section 23‑91(b)(5), this credit shall be deemed to have been enacted for an economic benefit; and
(2) Section 235-17--Credit for [qualified]
qualifying production [costs] expenditures incurred for a
qualified motion picture, digital media, or film production."
SECTION 5. Section 121-19, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§121-19 Regulations governing armories, etc. Any law to the contrary notwithstanding, the
adjutant general may make regulations to establish procedures governing the
care and custody of department of defense facilities that are either set aside
to the department of defense or on license from the federal government. The adjutant general may permit the use of or
may temporarily rent to national guard units or other county, state, or federal
government agency sponsoring or co-sponsoring meetings, classes, or other
activities; hosting athletic events or competitions; billeting personnel in
conjunction with sanctioned events such as agency-sponsored conferences or
classes, agency-sponsored athletic or recreation programs, government-sponsored
public hearings or meetings, unit-sponsored youth organizations and activities,
or public school sponsored classes, dances, plays, and concerts; nonprofit or
eleemosynary organizations conducting a community or group activity; and film
production enterprise activities promoted and coordinated through the [Hawaii
film industry branch, department of business, economic development, and
tourism, such] Hawaii film commission, portions as will not
interfere with the military use thereof.
The adjutant general shall establish the rentals to be charged for their
use and all net proceeds received from the rentals shall be deposited into the general
fund of the State. Chapter 91 shall not
apply."
SECTION 6. Section 235-17, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended as follows:
1. By amending subsection (a) to read:
"(a)
[Any law to the contrary notwithstanding, there] There
shall be allowed to each taxpayer subject to the taxes imposed by this chapter,
an income tax credit that shall be deductible from the taxpayer's net income
tax liability, if any, imposed by this chapter for the taxable year in which
the credit is properly claimed. The amount
of the credit shall be:
[(1) Twenty-two per cent of the qualified
production costs incurred by a qualified production in any county of the State
with a population of over seven hundred thousand; or
(2) Twenty-seven per cent of the
qualified production costs incurred by a qualified production in any county of
the State with a population of seven hundred thousand or less.
A
qualified production occurring in more than one county may prorate its
expenditures based upon the amounts spent in each county, if the population
bases differ enough to change the percentage of tax credit.]
(1) With respect to productions not within a designated enhanced film production zone:
(A) Twenty per cent of the approved company's:
(i) Qualifying non-resident payroll expenditures for employees who
are not resident taxpayers, not to exceed $1,000,000 in payroll expenditures
per person; and
(ii) Qualifying production expenditures; or
(B) Twenty-five per cent of the approved company's qualifying
resident payroll expenditures, not to exceed $1,000,000 in payroll expenditures
per person; or
(2) With respect to productions within a designated enhanced film production zone:
(A) Twenty per cent of the approved company's:
(i) Qualifying non-resident payroll expenditures for employees who
are not resident taxpayers, not to exceed $1,000,000 in payroll expenditures
per person; and
(ii) Qualifying production expenditures; or
(B) Thirty per cent of the approved company's qualifying resident payroll expenditures for employees who are Hawaii resident taxpayers, not to exceed $1,000,000 in payroll expenditures per person.
In
the case of a partnership, S corporation, estate, or trust, the tax credit
allowable is for [qualified] qualifying production [costs]
expenditures incurred by the entity for the taxable year. The [cost] expenditures upon
which the tax credit is computed shall be determined at the entity level. Distribution and share of credit shall be
determined by rule.
If a deduction is taken under section 179 (with respect to election to expense depreciable business assets) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, no tax credit shall be allowed for those costs for which the deduction is taken.
The basis for eligible property for depreciation of accelerated cost recovery system purposes for state income taxes shall be reduced by the amount of credit allowable and claimed.
Tax incentive agreements for approved
companies under the tax credit program shall include a listing of the enhanced
film production zones as of the date of the Hawaii state film office's approval
of the project. Once an approved company
enters into a tax incentive agreement, the listed enhanced film production
zones shall maintain the enhanced benefits for the term of the agreement, regardless
of any change in the status of the enhanced film production zones.
The approved company shall separately
account for the requisite expenditures within enhanced film production
zones. If the approved company
demonstrates to the satisfaction of the department of taxation that it is not
practical to use a separate accounting method to determine the expenditures
within the enhanced film production zones, the approved company shall determine
the correct expenditures within the enhanced film production zones using an
alternative method approved by the department of taxation.
All previously approved tax credits shall remain valid until the stated expiration date."
2. By amending subsection (d) to read:
"(d) To qualify for this tax credit, a production shall:
(1) Meet the definition of a qualified production specified in subsection (o);
(2) Have [qualified] qualifying
production [costs] expenditures totaling at least $100,000;
(3) Provide the State a qualified Hawaii promotion, which shall be at a minimum, a shared-card, end-title screen credit, where applicable;
(4) Provide evidence of reasonable efforts to hire local talent and crew;
(5) Provide evidence when making any claim for products or services acquired or rendered outside of this State that reasonable efforts were unsuccessful to secure and use comparable products or services within this State;
(6) Provide evidence of financial or in-kind contributions or educational or workforce development efforts, in partnership with related local industry labor organizations, educational institutions, or both, toward the furtherance of the local film and television and digital media industries;
(7) Provide proof of contact for every
supporting union - signatory or non-signatory (including IATSE, SAG, Teamsters,
IBEW, DGA AFM, and others), and a list of all members and their position titles
that will be employed on the production; provided that, for all other
production staff, the production shall provide a list of names, position titles
and state resident status;
(8) Provide proof of contact for every supporting union - signatory or non-signatory (including IATSE, SAG, Teamsters, IBEW, DGA AFM, and others), and a list of all members and their position titles that will be employed on the production, to qualify for an open and accessible epermit or standard film permit; provided that, for all other production staff, the production shall provide a list of names, position titles and state resident status;
[(7)] (9)
Be compliant with all applicable requirements under title 14,
including tax return filing and payments; and
[(8)] (10)
Provide complete responses to the department of taxation's
inquiries and document requests, in the form prescribed by the department, no
later than ninety days from the inquiry or request.
3. By amending subsection (f) to read:
"(f) To receive the tax credit, the taxpayer shall first prequalify the production for the credit by registering with the department of business, economic development, and tourism during the development or preproduction stage. Each prequalified production shall provide the department of business, economic development, and tourism a shooting schedule not later than seven days before the commencement of filming. If there are changes to the production schedule, an updated schedule shall be submitted to the department of business, economic development, and tourism. The department of business, economic development, and tourism shall conduct unannounced on-site audits based on the information the production submitted in the preproduction registration. If discrepancies are found between the preproduction submission and the actual onsite production, the production shall have seven working days to comply with the certified preproduction documentation. A follow-up onsite audit shall be conducted within one week of the seven-working day deadline. If the production remains noncompliant, the tax credit under this section shall be forfeited."
4. By amending subsections (h) to (j) to read:
"(h) Every taxpayer claiming a tax credit under
this section for a qualified production shall, no later than ninety days
following the end of each taxable year in which [qualified] qualifying
production [costs] expenditures were expended, submit a written,
sworn statement, verified by an independent third‑party auditor,
to the department of business, economic development, and tourism that
identifies:
(1) All [qualified] qualifying
production [costs] expenditures as provided by subsection (a), if
any, incurred in the previous taxable year;
(2) The amount of tax credits claimed pursuant to this section, if any, in the previous taxable year; and
(3) The number of total hires versus the number of local hires by category and by county.
This information may be reported from the department of business, economic development, and tourism to the legislature pursuant to subsection (i)(4).
(i) The department of business, economic development, and tourism shall:
(1) Maintain records of the names of the taxpayers and qualified productions thereof claiming the tax credits under subsection (a);
(2) Obtain and total the aggregate amounts
of all [qualified] qualifying production [costs] expenditures
per qualified production and per qualified production per taxable year;
(3) Provide a letter to the director of
taxation specifying the amount of the tax credit per qualified production for
each taxable year that a tax credit is claimed and the cumulative amount of the
tax credit for all years claimed; [and]
(4) Submit a report to the legislature no
later than twenty days prior to the convening of each regular session detailing
the non-aggregated [qualified] qualifying production [costs]
expenditures that form the basis of the tax credit claims and
expenditures, itemized by taxpayer, in a redacted format to preserve the
confidentiality and that shall include the dollar amount claimed, name of
company, and name of the qualified production of the taxpayers claiming the
credit[.];
(5) Publish on its website:
(A) A detailed list of film production goods and services vendor requirements; and
(B) The names of qualified productions and the amount of the tax credits certified per qualified production per filing year; and
(6) Provide the legislature with an annual rolling six-year forecast that details future productions, proposed schedule, and corresponding infrastructure, workforce, goods, and service needs.
(j)
Upon each determination required under subsection (i), the department of
business, economic development, and tourism shall issue a letter to the
taxpayer, regarding the qualified production, specifying the [qualified]
qualifying production [costs] expenditures and the tax
credit amount qualified for in each taxable year a tax credit is claimed;
provided that the department of business, economic development, and tourism
shall issue the letter to the taxpayer no later than seven months after receipt
of the taxpayer's statement under subsection (h). The taxpayer for each qualified production
shall file the letter with the taxpayer's tax return for the qualified
production to the department of taxation.
Notwithstanding the authority of the department of business, economic
development, and tourism under this section, the director of taxation may audit
and adjust the tax credit amount to conform to the information filed by the
taxpayer."
5. By amending subsections (n) and (o) to read:
"(n) The total amount of tax credits allowed under
this section in any particular year shall be [$50,000,000;] $ ; however, if the total amount of
credits applied for in any particular year exceeds the aggregate amount of
credits allowed for that year under this section, the excess shall be treated
as having been applied for in the subsequent year and shall be claimed in the
subsequent year; provided that no excess shall be allowed to be claimed after
December 31, [2032.] 2038.
(o) For the purposes of this section:
"Above-the-line
production crew" means employees involved with the production of a motion
picture or entertainment production whose salaries are negotiated before the
commencement of production, including actors, directors, producers, and
writers.
"Approved
company" means an eligible production company approved for incentives
under this section.
"Below-the-line
production crew" means employees involved with the production of a motion
picture or entertainment production, except above-the-line production crew. "Below‑the‑line production
crew" includes:
(1) Casting
assistants;
(2) Costume
design;
(3) Extras;
(4) Gaffers;
(5) Grips;
(6) Location
managers;
(7) Production
assistants;
(8) Set
construction staff;
(9) Set
design staff; and
(10) Transportation
staff.
"Commercial":
(1) Means an advertising message that is filmed using film, videotape, or digital media, for dissemination via television broadcast or theatrical distribution;
(2) Includes a series of advertising messages if all parts are produced at the same time over the course of six consecutive weeks; and
(3) Does not include an advertising message with Internet‑only distribution.
"Digital media" means production methods and platforms directly related to the creation of cinematic imagery and content, specifically using digital means, including but not limited to digital cameras, digital sound equipment, and computers, to be delivered via film, videotape, interactive game platform, or other digital distribution media.
"Enhanced
film production zone" means an area:
(1) That is a designated film production zone that follows a same geographic area as a state enterprise zone under chapter 209E; and
(2) In which qualifying production expenditures and qualifying payroll expenditures are made.
"Excluded
expenditures" means:
(1) Post-production
expenditures for footage shot outside of the State, marketing, publicity, story
tights, or distribution;
(2) Any
expenditures for work or services not conducted or rendered in the State;
(3) In any instance in which services are conducted or rendered both in the State and outside the State, the work that is conducted or rendered outside of the State;
(4) Expenditures
for services not performed at the filming site, unless the vendor is based in the
State;
(5) Expenditures
for goods that were not purchased or rented or leased in the State from a vendor
based in Hawaii, including goods shipped or delivered from the Hawaii
vendor's location outside of the State, unless more than a de minimis amount of
the type of goods held and shipped or delivered from outside the State are
normally held in inventory in the ordinary course of business in the State by
the Hawaii vendor; provided that, for the purposes of this paragraph, a vendor
that acts as a conduit to enable purchases or rentals to qualify that would not
otherwise qualify shall not be considered to be vendor based in the State;
(6) Expenditures
for goods not used in the State;
(7) Freight
or shipping charges incurred relating to a vendor not based in the State; or
(8) Any
transaction subject to taxation under chapter 238, for which taxes have not
been demonstrably paid; provided that, for the purposes of this paragraph, use
taxes paid by the production company itself shall be considered to have been
demonstrably paid.
"Hawaii-based
company" means a business:
(1) That has its principal place of business in the State; or
(2) With not less than fifty per cent of:
(A) Its property located in the State; and
(B) Its payroll paid in the State.
"Payroll"
means salary, wages, or other compensation including related benefits, paid to
employees and withheld and paid pursuant to section 235-62.
"Post-production" means production activities and services conducted after principal photography is completed, including but not limited to editing, film and video transfers, duplication, transcoding, dubbing, subtitling, credits, closed captioning, audio production, special effects (visual and sound), graphics, and animation.
"Production" means a series of activities that are directly related to the creation of visual and cinematic imagery to be delivered via film, videotape, or digital media and to be sold, distributed, or displayed as entertainment or the advertisement of products for mass public consumption, including but not limited to scripting, casting, set design and construction, transportation, videography, photography, sound recording, interactive game design, and post-production.
"Production partner" means a
director, producer, production supervisor or manager, director of photography,
production designer, casting director, production company, production services
company, or post-production services company.
"Qualified production":
(1) Means [a production,] an
approved company, with expenditures in the State, for the total or partial
production of a feature-length motion picture, short film, made-for-television
movie, commercial, music video, interactive game, television series pilot,
single season (up to twenty-two episodes) of a television series regularly
filmed in the State (if the number of episodes per single season exceeds
twenty-two, additional episodes for the same season shall constitute a separate
qualified production), television special, single television episode that is
not part of a television series regularly filmed or based in the State,
national magazine show, or national talk show.
For the purposes of subsections (d) and (l), each of the aforementioned
qualified production categories shall constitute separate, individual qualified
productions; and
(2) Does not include:
(A) News;
(B) Public affairs programs;
(C) Non-national magazine or talk shows;
(D) Televised sporting events or activities;
(E) Productions that solicit funds;
(F) Productions produced primarily for industrial, corporate, institutional, or other private purposes; and
(G) Productions that include any material or performance prohibited by chapter 712.
"Qualifying nonresident payroll
expenditure" means payroll paid to nonresident cast and crew:
(1) Whose
wages are subject to Hawaii income tax withholding for that portion of their
salary that is earned in the State; and
(2) For
their work on a project:
(A) That:
(i) Is produced by a Hawaii-based company;
(ii) Is produced by a Hawaii subsidiary company of the applicant production company;
(iii) Is produced by a production company in which an owner, member, or principal is a Hawaii resident taxpayer; or
(iv) Engages a Hawaii resident taxpayer or company to serve as a production partner to the applicant production company; and
(B) For
which the applicant company, or the individual or company serving as its
production partner, has been associated with the production in Hawaii of at
least two nationally-distributed motion pictures within the previous ten years
and has filed Hawaii state income taxes for the three most recent taxable
years, as verified by the department of taxation.
"Qualifying payroll
expenditure" means compensation that is:
(1) Paid to above-the-line production crew and below‑the‑line production crew for services performed in the State for work on a motion picture or entertainment production; and
(2) Verified for proper remittance of withholding by the approved company or payroll service.
["Qualified]
"Qualifying production [costs"] expenditures"
means the costs incurred by a qualified production within the State that are
subject to the general excise tax under chapter 237 at the highest rate of
tax or income tax under this chapter if the costs are not subject to general
excise tax and that have not been financed by any investments for which a
credit was or will be claimed pursuant to section 235-110.9. [Qualified] Qualifying
production [costs] expenditures include [but are not limited
to]:
(1) Costs incurred during preproduction such as location scouting and related services;
(2) Costs of set construction and operations, purchases or rentals of wardrobe, props, accessories, food, office supplies, transportation, equipment, and related services;
(3) Wages or salaries of cast, crew, and musicians;
(4) Costs of photography, sound synchronization, lighting, and related services;
(5) Costs of editing, visual effects, music, other post‑production, and related services;
(6) Rentals and fees for use of local facilities and locations, including rentals and fees for use of state and county facilities and locations that are not subject to general excise tax under chapter 237 or income tax under this chapter;
(7) Rentals of vehicles and lodging for cast and crew;
(8) Airfare for flights to or from Hawaii, and interisland flights;
(9) Insurance and bonding;
(10) Shipping of equipment and supplies to or from Hawaii, and interisland shipments; and
(11) Other direct production costs specified by the department in consultation with the department of business, economic development, and tourism;
provided
that any government-imposed fines, penalties, or interest that are incurred by
a qualified production within the State shall not be ["qualified] "qualifying
production [costs". "Qualified]
expenditures. "Qualifying
production [costs"] expenditures"
does not include any costs funded by any grant, forgivable loan, or other
amounts not included in gross income for purposes of this chapter. "Qualifying
production expenditures" does not include excluded expenditures.
"Qualifying resident payroll
expenditure" means payroll paid to resident cast and crew:
(1) Domiciled in the State and physically present in the State for not fewer than nine months of the qualified production's taxable year; and
(2) Whose wages are subject to section 235-61."
SECTION 7. Act 88, Session Laws of Hawaii 2006, as amended by Act 89, Session Laws of Hawaii 2013, as amended by Act 143, Session Laws of Hawaii 2017, as amended by Act 217, Session laws of Hawaii 2022, is amended by amending section 4 to read as follows:
"SECTION
4.
This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2006; provided
that:
(1) Section 2 of this Act
shall apply to qualified production costs incurred on or after July 1, 2006,
and before January 1, [2033;] 2038; and
(2) This Act shall be
repealed on January 1, [2033,] 2038, and section 235-17, Hawaii
Revised Statutes, shall be reenacted in the form in which it read on the day
before the effective date of this Act."
SECTION 8. (a) The auditor is requested to conduct a performance and financial audit of the Hawaii state film office of the creative industries branch of the department of business, economic development, and tourism. The auditor is requested to include in the audit the policies, procedures, and processes of the Hawaii state film office as it pertains to the proper facilitation oversight, auditing and approvals given to productions qualifying them for the motion picture, digital media, and film production income tax credit and incentives:
(1) From fiscal years 2018-2019 to 2022-2023; and
(2) In future fiscal years.
(b) The auditor is requested to submit the performance and financial audit, including any findings, recommendations, and proposed legislation, to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2024.
SECTION 9. All rights, powers, functions, and duties of the Hawaii state film office are transferred to the Hawaii film commission. The person who served as the Hawaii state film commissioner immediately before the effective date of this Act shall serve as the initial executive director of the Hawaii film commission, until that person resigns or until the commission appoints an executive director, whichever occurs first.
SECTION 10. All rules, policies, procedures, guidelines, and other material adopted or developed by the Hawaii state film office to implement provisions of the Hawaii Revised Statutes that are reenacted or made applicable to the Hawaii film commission by this Act shall remain in full force and effect until amended or repealed by the Hawaii film commission pursuant to chapter 91, Hawaii Revised Statutes. In the interim, every reference to the Hawaii state film office or the Hawaii state film commissioner in those rules, policies, procedures, guidelines, and other material is amended to refer to the Hawaii film commission or executive director of the Hawaii film commission, as appropriate.
SECTION 11. All deeds, leases, contracts, loans, agreements, permits, or other documents executed or entered into by or on behalf of the Hawaii state film office which are reenacted or made applicable to the Hawaii film commission by this Act, shall remain in full force and effect. Upon the effective date of this Act, every reference to the Hawaii state film office or the Hawaii state film commissioner therein shall be construed as a reference to the Hawaii film commission or executive director of the Hawaii film commission, as appropriate.
SECTION 12. All appropriations, records, equipment, machines, files, supplies, contracts, books, papers, documents, maps, and other personal property heretofore made, used, acquired, or held by the Hawaii state film office relating to the functions transferred to the Hawaii film commission shall be transferred with the functions to which they relate.
SECTION 13. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $ or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2023-2024 and the same sum or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2024-2025 to fund one full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) executive director position within the Hawaii film commission.
The sums appropriated shall be expended by the Hawaii film commission for the purposes of this Act.
SECTION 14. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $ or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2023-2024 for a performance and financial audit of the Hawaii film office
The sum appropriated shall be expended by the office of the auditor for the purposes of this Act.
SECTION 15. This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun before its effective date.
SECTION 16. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 17. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2050.
Report Title:
Hawaii Film Commission; Hawaii State Film Office; DBEDT; Tax Credits; Appropriations
Description:
Establishes the Hawaii Film Commission in the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism. Amends the administration and extends the sunset date of the motion picture, digital media, and film production income tax credit to 1/1/2038. Establishes a new film studio tax credit. Requests and appropriates funds for the Auditor to conduct a performance and financial audit of the Hawaii State Film Office. Transfers all rights, powers, functions, and duties of the Hawaii State Film Office to the Hawaii Film Commission. Appropriates funds for one full‑time equivalent executive director position within the Hawaii Film Commission. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)
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