A Democratic lawmaker in California has proposed a bill that would give tax breaks to Hollywood studios that refuse to film in states that have recently enacted stricter abortion laws.
Assembly Bill 1442 would allow tax breaks from January 2020 for companies that refuse to film in states with “pending legislation or existing law that prohibits access to, criminalizes the provision of, or otherwise restricts a woman’s access to abortion services after 6 weeks from the beginning of the pregnancy or earlier.”
“There are actors and actresses that are refusing to be part of a production in one of those states,” Democratic Assemblywoman Luz Rivas, who is sponsoring the proposed legislation, told CNBC. “I think it really puts pressure on the industry to reconsider whether they want to do business in those states.”
The legislation comes amid mounting fury by left-wing politicians and Hollywood activists against a series of bills aimed at restricting abortion law in Republican-controlled states such as Georgia and Alabama. Both of those states already offer their own tax-incentives for production companies filming within the state.
“We’re willing to expand [the program] to other states,” Rivas explained. “But right now we’re highlighting those states with strict abortion bans.”
Scores of major Hollywood figures and at least three productions companies have already pledged to boycott working in states that have passed such legislation, presenting potential challenges for production companies that have planned or are already in the process of filming in those locations.
“A lot of the entertainment industry has relocated to Georgia because that state was very competitive in their own state film tax credit,” Rivas continued. “We’re trying to further incentivize the entertainment industry that currently is filming in states with these strict abortion bans to come and do business in California and share our values.”
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