AUGUSTA — After gaining initial approval in the Maine Senate, a bill to promote economic development through filmmaking put forth by Democratic Sen. Susan Deschambault of Biddeford has been defeated in the Maine House of Representatives.
 
LD 1450, “An Act To Promote Workforce Development and Provide an Economic Stimulus for Maine-based Filmmakers and Supporting Businesses,” was designed to enhance and strengthen the visual media production certification process, reimbursement and credit for movies made in Maine.
 
The bill died between the houses 86-61 in a roll call vote in the House on Friday. It needed at least 74 votes to pass in a simple majority.
 
A June 9 release from Deschambault’s office said the bill was given initial approval in a Senate vote of 33-2.
 
The bill specified that eligible visual media production expenses must be for pre-production, production and post-production work performed in Maine.
 
It also increased existing reimbursement rates for wages associated with filmmaking to 25 percent for Maine residents and 20 percent for nonresidents, which Deschambault’s office said would incentivize filmmaking in the state by making Maine more competitive with other states’ reimbursement rates.
 
Deschambault has said the bill was modeled after a successful filming incentive program in New Mexico. That program, she said, generated between 2,500 and 4,000 above-average wage jobs between 2010 and 2014, 74 percent of which went to New Mexico residents.
 
The bill was introduced in May, several months after the film “Holly Star” was shot and produced in the Biddeford area. The filmmakers also hired local crew members and contractors, which city officials have said boosted the local economy.
 
Deschambault said the bill would have made Maine more competitive in the entertainment industry.
 
“Filmmakers are already interested in Maine because of our stunning environment and picturesque communities, but even when Maine is their first choice, many choose to produce their films elsewhere because other states provide incentives to support filmmaking and the jobs associated with it,” she said. “This bill won’t make ours the most generous state, but it will make it easier for filmmakers to choose Maine.”
 
A release from Deschambault’s office said a number of films could have potentially been shot in the state, but a lack of incentives cost Maine the bid.
 
Among them, “The Mist,” by author Stephen Kingm which is set in Maine, but the film was shot in Louisiana because of its more-substantial incentive program. “Tumbledown,” while set in Maine, was shot in Massachusetts and “Charlotte’s Web,” despite the crew’s desire to shoot here, filmed in Australia and Pennsylvania.
 
Erik Van Wyck, producer of “Holly Star,” previously spoke in favor of the bill in May.
 
“A film reimbursement program is no different than subsidizing any other business through corporate tax incentives,” he said. “At the moment, Maine’s incentive program is one of the least competitive in the country. This bill would make Maine more competitive as a filming location.”
 
The bill would have also repealed the certified visual media production tax credit; increased the cap reimbursement of expenses for films and television episodes; and would have specified that a person claiming the Pine Tree Development Zone tax credit wouldn’t be eligible to get the visual media production reimbursement.
 
— Staff Writer Alan Bennett can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 329 or abennett@journaltribune.com.