This week, our Entertainment Union Coalition Board traveled to Sacramento to meet with key legislators and the Governor regarding the next steps to move our trailer bill — that includes the expansion and modernization of our Film and Television Jobs Program — forward QUICKLY. 

Governor Newsom continues to express his commitment to the $750 million he has proposed for the funding of the program as a key priority in this very difficult budget year. We now need to merge the money with the programmatic changes that are in AB 1138/SB 630, and do so quickly so that we have a competitive California Film and Television Jobs Program. Critical players on these FINAL decisions are Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas and Senate Pro Tem Mike McGuire.  Both have been supportive of us, but they are faced with many difficult budget decisions and priorities in a year when CA is facing a significant deficit.

By law, the initial budget must be voted on by June 15. We want to be clear, the funding for the California Film and Television Jobs Program will not be in that budget. Do not be surprised. Our $750 million will be in a subsequent so called “trailer “ bill.  

This is common and we are not an exception — it is true of many other programs. Trailer bills are essentially the mechanism to implement the budget.   We are pushing very hard for a vote on a combined bill — funding and competitive programmatic changes — over the next couple of weeks. We continue to need to impress upon Sacramento the urgency we face if we are going to get production moving in 2025.

We went to Sacramento this week to personally stress the urgency of the situation and the necessity to act now and not wait until August or September to get this legislation and funding through. The way decisions are made in our industry, any delay has a domino effect, and productions will simply move on without certainty.

We are not the only people who have critical legislation to get passed. This is why your voice, and letters continue to be so important. If you have not written yet, please do and keep asking others to take a moment to send a letter of support and urgency to fully fund and modernize our jobs program to protect and preserve the film and television industry in California. 

If you missed last week’s video, tune in to hear EUC President Rebecca Rhine breakdown what lies ahead to get this across the finish line.