Matthew McConaughey and other stars push Senate to make Texas next film haven

AUSTIN (Nexstar) - Monday evening the Texas Senate Committee on Finance approved Senate Bill 22, which would increase the amount of money the state provides to attract film and television projects to Texas. The 11-0 vote sets the stage for the bill to be considered by the full Senate in the coming days.

The vote came hours after committee members heard testimony from special guest Matthew McConaughey in support of SB 22. The legislation would set aside $500 million every two years for the next 10 years for the "Moving Image Industry Incentive Fund." This would more than double the amount allocated in 2023 when Texas lawmakers more than doubled the tax incentive program to $200 million for the biennium. 

Through this bill, Texas' film office would issue grants to film productions that spend at least $500,000 in Texas, an increase from the current program's minimum in-state spend of $250,000. The bill, filed by Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, would reduce the Texas residency requirements necessary to obtain grants to 35% for the next two years. This would increase it over time throughout the two-year cycle to eventually reach 50% in 2031. Under current law, film productions are only eligible for grants if 55% of their crew base — including actors and extras — are Texas residents. 

Adriana Cruz, the executive director of the Texas Economic Development and Tourism Office, testified at the hearing. She said the film industry in Texas has already created 189,000 jobs for the state’s residents and has given the state a 469% return on investment. This means that for every grant dollar the state awards the industry returns $4.69 back to its economy.

During Monday’s hearing, the committee heard testimony from notable Texas-based actors Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson. McConaughey mentioned both his and Harrelson’s work on “Brothers,” a series they’re currently filming in Dripping Springs. He explained that in order to shoot the series in Texas, he and Harrelson had to give up 15% of their personal salaries to avoid moving production to Georgia. He said that sacrifice is worth it to give back to the Texas economy and grow the film industry in his home state.

“One of the only regrets of my 33-year career in film and television is not making more films, more of my films here in Texas. Especially the ones that were about Texans or set in Texas,” the actor said.

McConaughey said that if the bill is passed in Texas, there will not only be an economic impact but changes to human capital as well. 

“Look, if we pass this bill in Texas, we are immediately at the bargaining table for shooting more films and television and commercials in our state immediately. Also, more Texans who left Texas and went to other incentivized states for work because there wasn’t enough work here are going to move back,” McConaughey said.

He said he hopes to take the impacts of this bill even further and invest in the Texas resident workforce so that it can grow alongside the productions that will come with these new grants. He said this begins with partnerships at community colleges and local universities to train students in things like set design, hair and makeup, special effects, post-production, lighting and much more. With this, he believes Texas can create its own self-sustaining industry. 

“If we pass SB 22 and we train a self-sustaining workforce, we will not only have full capacity in the production facilities that we already have, but we’re gonna need to build more.”

The committee also heard testimony from Chad Gunderson, the producer of "The Chosen," a multi-season TV series about the life of Jesus. Gunderson said a majority of the show is filmed in Texas. 

“Of the entire series, we’ve spent probably close to $150 million on the show, and more than half of that has been spent in the state of Texas.”

Gunderson agrees that the state needs more resources for the film industry, specifically referencing the need for more crew and sound stages. He said the incentives from state governments are necessary to do that.

“What I can say is one of the biggest reasons that projects don’t come to Texas is because they’re like 'I don’t know, is the money gonna be there in two years?' So, I do think this uptick, this decades-long investment is a great step in the right direction.” 

In addition to Gunderson, Mayor of Fort Worth Mattie Parker came to testify about the economic impact her city has experienced from the film industry and, more specifically, the Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program. Parker said since 2015, Fort Worth alone has seen $700 million in economic impact and 30,000 local jobs along with included tourism support and investment in a wide variety of industries, from retail to restaurants to dry cleaners and lumber yards. 

In contrast, they also heard testimony from Julie Smith, the former tourism and main street manager for the city of Stephenville, which is in the heart of rural Texas, boasting a population of about 21,000. Smith said the impact for her small city was life-changing for many residents and businesses in the area.

The last portion of invited testimony came from Eric Algoe, executive vice president for operations and Chief Financial Officer at Texas State University. He boasted on a growing film program with more than 300 film majors currently. He said the vast majority of those film majors want to stay in Texas but are forced to move elsewhere to follow their career goals. 

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who has made transforming Texas into a film haven one of his priorities this session, was also in attendance at Monday’s hearing. 

Amid the testimony in support of the legislation heard on Monday, some Senators raised concerns. Sen. Donna Campbell, R- New Braunfels, worries that the threshold to determine which productions can receive the grants should involve an examination into the language of the products. Currently, the bill includes a prohibition on pornography or obscene materials.

“Personally, I think there's no value at all using God's name in vain in movies or anywhere else. But while I see listed specific projects not eligible, I don't find that profanity is limited in any way,” Campbell said. 

Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, echoed that sentiment, specifically referencing Fort Worth based production, "Landman." 

“No offense but having Billy Bob Thornton F-bomb every other sentence is not in my mind, Texas values, so we do need to get handle on this, because that's that's a clear differentiator between a bad product, okay, and it simply is a bad product and not something that the Texas taxpayers would want to be supporting," he said.

Bettencourt said that there’s a line that needs to be drawn with regards to language in the films or shows that are receiving these tax-payer funded grants. 

 “We've got to have a standard that sets the tone for the state of Texas and what we’re going to support, what we're not going to support.”

Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D- McAllen, and Sen. Carol Alvarado, D- Houston, disagreed, saying that it's difficult to micromanage the film industry without infringing on free speech. 

Bettencourt explained that there must be a way to ensure that Texas taxpayers aren’t paying for obscene or offensive language.

“It's not something I want to see on television. I certainly don't want to put our money behind it. So I have to agree with Sen. Campbell on this that we have to take a look at. You know, the just the trivialization of obscene language to the point where it becomes a repetitive nightmare for the viewers,” Bettencourt said. 

Alvarado believes that the stipulation in the bill that prohibits any content that portrays Texas or Texans in a negative fashion should cover those concerns. Huffman explained that filmmakers can still make whatever they want in Texas but, Texas tax dollars and the grant money addressed in SB 22 will only go to the projects that meet the criteria for the incentive. This allows for more discretion from the film committee and the governor’s office to determine which films deserve the funding while also not violating the First Amendment.

Two other film incentive-related bills have also been filed, House Bill 1452 by State Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake, and a companion bill, House Bill 2212, by State Rep. Ben Bumgarner, R-Flower Mound.