In It for the Long Haul: Colorado Film Incentives

SAG-AFTRA has been on the front lines in pursuit of substantial film incentives for over two decades in Colorado, and we may be closer to realizing this dream than ever before.

During the 2022 Colorado legislative session, Rep. Leslie Herod sponsored a bill to approve a task force to perform a six-month study on the impact film incentives would have on Colorado.

As the bill was initially written, the task force consisted of seven positions, none of which represented our members or any of our sister unions in the industry. SAG-AFTRA brought this to the attention of Kjersten Forseth, the political analyst for the Colorado AFL-CIO. The bill was rewritten with the recommendation to allow for nine seats on the task force to include two representatives from entertainment industry labor unions.

The recommendation was accepted and passed and, as was outlined in the bill, the representatives from labor would be chosen by consensus of local leadership. SAG-AFTRA Colorado Local Board member Sheila Ivy Traister was chosen to represent performers in front of the camera and behind the mic, while Bryant Preston — who at the time was the executive director for IATSE — was chosen to represent union members behind the camera.

The rest of the task force was composed of the Colorado Film commissioner, a representative from the Motion Picture Association of America, a business school representative and four legislators, two from the House and two from the Senate.

Very early in the process, the legislators revealed that they knew little about the entertainment industry. It was the perfect opportunity for our union representatives and those on the panel representing different aspects of our industry to educate them on the important issues that would have the greatest impact on our state.

Every 2.5-hour session, held one day a month for six months, was open to the public. Dozens of individuals and production entities showed up throughout the process, and the legislators on the Task Force began to understand our industry and the full impact incentives would have.

The study produced a 17-page report in which both Democrats and Republicans on the task force signed off to move forward a recommendation of $15 million a year for five years. A bipartisan effort of this magnitude for film incentives had not happened in the state before now. This was a great start and not to be taken lightly.

Late in the legislative session, HB-1309, the film incentive tax credit, was sponsored by Reps. Herod and Marc Snyder along with state Sen. Sonya Jaquez Lewis.  

The bill put forth the task force’s recommendation of $15 million per year for five years, and HB-1309 made it through the House and the Senate. 

There was also tremendous outreach to industry professionals, families and friends, encouraging them to email and call their representatives and senators to ask them to support the bill. Hundreds from our industry and our allies heeded the call and the bill passed. However, not before it had been gutted to $5 million for one year.

So, what does this mean for Coloradans in the TV and film industry? It means we can’t compete with New Mexico, Atlanta, Arizona, Utah, Minnesota and so many other states outside of the obvious Los Angeles and New York when it comes to incentivizing productions to come to our beautiful state to film. We are far, far behind and have lost the majority of our infrastructure.

The positive takeaways: Gov. Polis has signed the bill, so we have $5 million, if the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) has surplus dollars in the next fiscal cycle. The entire $5 million will be used up quickly, which will allow us to go back to the Legislature and say, “See ... the money is already gone, we need more!” We can also celebrate the fact that we broke through party lines.

While we are eons behind our neighboring states, this is a start. And for those who are committed to working and living in Colorado, this is not a race to the finish but a steady climb for the long haul. Not sure how or when, but with continued diligence and the ongoing passion and support of our community, our day will come!