KUT NEWS
Senate Bill 22, which invests $1.5 billion into Texas' film incentives program over the next decade, has been passed into law and will go into effect starting Sept. 1.
The piece of legislation was not among the 334 bills that Gov. Greg Abbott signed and publicly endorsed on Sunday, but bills can become law without his signature, per the state constitution.
In Texas, film incentives are cash rebates for productions. The more money a production spends in state, the higher a rebate the production could receive.
SB 22 establishes a $300 million biennial fund for the Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program. It's less than the $500 million figure lawmakers had considered, but is still a new record for the program, which was previously boosted with $200 million in 2023.
"This bold investment will attract high-quality film and television projects to production hubs like Dallas," Katie Schuck, the Dallas film commissioner, wrote in a Monday email. "This is truly a gamechanger."