Reimagining Louisiana's film tax program: Gov. John Bel Edwards, allies have new plan

The Louisiana Legislature and then-Gov. Bobby Jindal clamped down on Hollywood South two years ago.

Producers from California were flocking to Louisiana to film movies and television shows, but the hefty cost to taxpayers to subsidize their projects was ballooning.

The lawmakers temporarily capped the state’s cost, but caused so much confusion in the process that they unintentionally chased away many film and television productions. Jobs disappeared. Louisiana companies that catered to the industry lost work. The industry’s supporters howled.

Now, Gov. John Bel Edwards is asking legislators to rework the program again when they go into regular session beginning Monday, in ways he believes will stabilize the cost to taxpayers, provide enough incentives to bring filmmakers back while also creating more of a homegrown industry.

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