The Texas House has approved a controversial bill to provide hundreds of millions in taxpayer-funded incentives to the film industry, despite opposition from some conservative lawmakers who called it a “Hollywood handout.”
Senate Bill 22, a priority of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, passed the House in a 114-26 vote on Memorial Day.
Carried in the House by State Rep. Todd Hunter (R–Corpus Christi), the legislation is being framed by supporters as a way to boost economic development and bring high-profile productions to Texas. Hunter described the bill as a “guardrail program” and assured lawmakers that the funds were already allocated in the state’s budget.
The bill overhauls the Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Fund, and allows the Music, Film, Television, and Multimedia Office under the governor broad discretion to approve or deny applications based on content. The legislation expressly bars support for projects that portray Texas or Texans negatively, or that contain obscene or politically charged content.
The goal, according to supporters, is to attract high-dollar productions and related economic activity to Texas—an effort to compete with incentive programs in other states like Georgia and New Mexico.
Originally slated at up to $500 million per biennium for ten years, an amendment was added to cap the program’s cost at $300 million per biennium—or $1.5 billion over the decade.
But several conservative members rejected the proposal, questioning why the Legislature would subsidize an industry they say is hostile to their values.
“This bill provides taxpayer funded incentives to the film and entertainment industry—the same industry that once held Harvey Weinstein as a hero and turned a blind eye to his abuse for years,” said State Rep. David Lowe (R–North Richland Hills) in remarks on the House floor. “It took public outrage and national shame before Hollywood even pretended to hold him accountable.”
Lowe went on to criticize the industry for “mocking” conservatives and Texas values.
“This is also the same industry that trashed us for supporting President Trump, mocked us for standing up for the unborn, vilified us for opposing gender transitions for children, and ridiculed our Christian faith at every opportunity,” said Lowe. “And now we are expected to trust them to produce family-friendly content and reimburse them $2.5 billion over the next decade.”
The legislation now heads back to the Senate, where lawmakers must approve the House changes before the session ends.
