Bill > HB1939

This bill amends the film tax credit to provide additional incentives for productions that hire a significant local workforce, gradually increasing the local hire threshold from eighty percent to eighty-five percent over five consecutive years, and also offers bonus credits for productions featuring indigenous content, investing in local infrastructure, or conducting post-production within the state, with specific definitions provided for terms like "above-the-line workforce" (employees like actors, directors, producers, and writers whose salaries are negotiated before production begins). It also mandates independent third-party certification of qualified production costs for all productions claiming the credit, starting in 2027, and allows the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism (DBEDT) to waive the per-production credit cap of $17 million for one production annually, with reporting requirements to the Legislature on the justification for these waivers. Furthermore, the Hawaii Film Office will now be required to submit an annual report to the Legislature detailing how tax credit funds are spent, the benefits to local communities, and the overall impact of the credit on the state's economy, with the entire act scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2033.

Budget and Finance, Business and Industry

https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=HB&billnumber=1939&year=2026