State lawmakers are scrambling to replenish Florida's entertainment industry tax incentive program, faulting Gov. Rick Scott's administration for squandering $296 million worth of funding.
The money, appropriated in 2010, was intended to last until 2016 but was exhausted two years ago. Much of it was handed to film, television and video game productions the chairwoman of the Senate Commerce and Tourism Committee says weren't properly vetted by the governor's film commissioner.
"You, as the film commissioner, must have seen these flaws and somewhere along the line thought, 'maybe this isn't the best we could do'," Sen. Nancy Detert (R-Venice) told Florida Film Commissioner Niki Welge at a tense hearing. "That's when you come to us and point out the flaws in the program and give us the opportunity to fix them before it's all dead."
The incentive program's advocates call the funding, which pays for tax credits given to production companies that choose to film in Florida, an investment with a stellar return. A 2013 entertainment industry study found every dollar spent through the program yields a positive economic impact of $4.60.
Under the Scott administration's stewardship, however, the Florida Office of Film and Entertainment has endured budget cuts, and the governor's latest budget proposal doesn't allocate funding to replenish the incentive program.
Despite the lack of a line item in Scott's spending plan, Detert says there's a distinct possibility the Legislature will provide some funding for the program next year, but she suggested any new money may come with strings attached.
"We're not your enemy; we're your partner," Detert said during her dressing-down of the film commissioner.