New Film Incentives for California

Dear Governor Schwarzenegger:

I want to urge you to consider a tax neutral incentive for film production in California. I offer an idea that has some challenges but those challenges have been overcome by other governments and this incentive could be immediately enacted as an executive order making an instant state incentive. Many states and cities already have this plan in operation and are experiencing success in a win-win situation.

A department within the CHP would be created entitled "secondary jobs." CHP officers would be offered jobs in film detail as a separate opportunity for work from their regular shifts. Instead of costing the filmmaker $82 an hour, which includes overtime, you would create an hourly wage. If it were $40.00 an hour it would be less than half price and still pay the officer a fair wage. The filmmaker would supply insurance, indemnification and pay the officer directly avoiding state auditing and treasurer expenses. Even retired CHP could participate creating new job opportunities and thus an economic development phase of the program.

The obstacles are that the CHP has created an opportunity for secondary jobs in the past, and one example was security positions. There was an incident that cost the state a lawsuit. In this case, CHP is already offering film detail and the state would be simply removing it from an overtime opportunity to a secondary job position. Presently there are no opportunities for retired CHP to work within the CHP and they are reluctant to allow people who are not active in the CHP to represent the state in that capacity. However, currently when there are not enough officers for film detail, CHP employees who work in the mechanic garage can fill in for traffic control. It seems that retired officers could take a class or be qualified in some way to have this new opportunity.

In short this idea does not cost the state or taxpayer any money and it puts more officers on the streets. It is tax neutral and would be an instant incentive for the filmmaker. California is one of only 8 states that do not offer a film incentive. Over 70\% of all Hollywood projects leave California for states that do care about the film business. Thousands of film industry people in California are out of work, on unemployment, or facing foreclosures of their homes. Please consider this idea.