MPC Members and Industry Supporters,
Over the past weeks, MPC and the entire MA film and television production community pushed hard to remove the sunset to the Film & Television incentive through debate of the House and Senate Economic Development bills.
Together, we sent over 2,100 emails and made hundreds of calls to the legislature in just the past 4 days alone during debate of the bills. Thanks to all of you who participated in these efforts. Our voices were heard and our supporters encouraged by them.
But unfortunately, neither the House or the Senate ultimately included the amendments to remove the sunset in their Economic Development bills. The immense economic and political pressures created by the COVID-19 pandemic and unusually compressed debate, proved too overwhelming to include this item, that still carries some contention, at this time.
While this is a disappointing result, our supporters in the House and the Senate and all of our fellow industry stakeholders in MA: the IATSE Locals, SAG-AFTRA, Teamsters Local 25, the MPA, and others remain unified and are committed to working together to get this done so our industry can continue to grow and thrive here.
Everyone should be proud of these advocacy efforts. The message has been delivered loudly and with clarity. You can be sure that there are no Massachusetts legislators who aren’t aware that there are a lot of voters in their districts who make a living in our industry and support continuing the Film & Television Incentive past the sunset date of December 31st 2022.
Changing law is hard work. And it will take more hard work, resources, and support to be successful. We will continue this fight and keep you updated on the campaign, so please keep an eye out and stay engaged through any and all communications.
MPC remains committed to the success of this advocacy, and supporting our film and media production community through the numerous challenges presented by COVID-19 and the recovery ahead. Thank you for all that you do.
