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Thursday, May 23, 2019

A California lawmaker has introduced a bill that would offer new incentives for movie and film productions that want to leave Georgia or other states with restrictive abortion laws.

Assembly Bill 1442 would allow an additional tax credit starting in January 2020 for qualified productions that do not want to film in states that have “pending legislation or existing law that prohibits access to, criminalizes the provision of, or otherwise restricts a woman’s access to abortion services after 6 weeks from the beginning of the pregnancy or earlier.”

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Tuesday, May 21, 2019

Production for Kristen Wiig’s upcoming comedy “Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar” will transfer out of Georgia following the state’s passage of new restrictions on abortions, Time reports, citing a representative for the actress.

Wiig co-wrote and stars in the Lionsgate film alongside Annie Mumolo, with whom she co-wrote the Oscar-nominated screenplay for “Bridesmaids.”

The announcement comes as several other productions have made similar moves after Gov. Brian Kemp (R) earlier this month signed into law a bill banning abortions in Georgia once a fetal heartbeat is detected, around six weeks.

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Tuesday, May 21, 2019

A California lawmaker reportedly introduced a bill Monday that would give tax breaks to production studios that leave states with restrictive abortion bans.

Assembly Bill 1442 would allow an additional tax credit starting in January 2020 for qualified productions that decide not to film in states that have “pending legislation or existing law that prohibits access to, criminalizes the provision of, or otherwise restricts a woman’s access to abortion services after 6 weeks from the beginning of the pregnancy or earlier.”

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Tuesday, May 21, 2019

LOS ANGELES — A California Democratic lawmaker on Monday formally introduced a bill to offer tax breaks to film and television productions that relocate from states with “strict abortion bans.”

The proposal comes after GOP Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey last week signed one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country that bans the procedure even in cases of rape and incest. Other states also have moved to pass strict abortion bans, including Georgia.

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Friday, May 17, 2019

California’s leaders are reassuring women in the Golden State their rights won’t be taken away like in other states. Governor Gavin Newsom is speaking out against Alabama’s new abortion ban.

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Friday, May 17, 2019

Gov. Gavin Newsom is citing recent abortion bans in conservative states to argue that film companies should take their productions out of the South and back to California.

In a Twitter video with Assemblywoman Luz Rivas, Newsom said California, which already gives tax breaks to films, is “going to do more” to entice productions to film in the Golden State.

“For those of you that have left to do production in states like Georgia, consider the investment there and what it’s promoting, versus investing in your state and what we’re promoting,” he said in the video posted Tuesday evening. “This is the moment, come back home.”

Rivas is carrying a bill to give new tax breaks to films that relocate production from states with strict abortion restrictions back to California. Despite what Newsom said in the video, his office wouldn’t say if he will support the bill.

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Thursday, May 16, 2019

SACRAMENTO – Assemblywoman Luz Rivas (D-Arleta) and Governor Gavin Newsom had a discussion on how to highlight women’s rights by utilizing California’s Film and Television Tax Credit to incentivize production companies operating in states with stricter abortion laws to work in California. This announcement follows Georgia and Alabama’s recent decision to outlaw abortions, both who are feeling the blowback from movie stars and production companies. 

“States like Georgia and Alabama are turning women’s rights into a race to the bottom. As a woman of color, shame on you. Shame on you for denying women a basic health right. Shame on you for belittling and devaluing women. Shame on you for taking away a woman’s right to choose,” said Assemblywoman Luz Rivas.

“I am proud to be a Californian because we value women, and that is why I will be introducing Assembly Bill (AB) 1442, the California Share Our Values Film Tax Incentive to encourage production companies to relocate from states with strict abortion laws to film and operate in California. This incentive will provide a boost to production companies, in addition to our existing Film and Television Tax Credit,” said Assemblywoman Luz Rivas.

California’s progressive policies, robust economy, diverse pool of talent, endless opportunities, and unmatched climate and landscapes sets our state apart from the nation as the golden standard for the arts and entertainment industry.  California’s film industry generates nearly $50 billion for our state’s economy. The California Film and Television Tax Credit aims to keep production companies in California and position our state to be competitive among other states and countries with a robust film and television industry.

“My bill provides the film industry a relocation incentive during a time of national uproar that has ensued from these shameful actions of restricting access to abortion services, and the call to action from several Hollywood stars and studios to instead avoid film production in states that do not respect women or their rights,” said Assemblywoman Luz Rivas.

“California is both a leader in women’s rights and the film industry. We hope those who are filming in these regressive states will come to California and share our values.”

Assemblywoman Rivas proudly represents the 39th Assembly District, which includes the communities of Arleta, Lake View Terrace, Granada Hills, Mission Hills, North Hollywood, Pacoima, Sun Valley, Sunland-Tujunga, Sylmar, and San Fernando.

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Tuesday, May 14, 2019
Friday, May 10, 2019
Friday, May 10, 2019

SACRAMENTO – Assemblywoman Luz Rivas (D-Arleta), member of the Assembly Budget Committee, has issued the following statement on Governor Newsom’s revised budget proposal:

“I applaud Governor Gavin Newsom’s efforts to uphold his promise to his ‘California for All’ state budget proposal; his commitment to tackle the state’s debt, bolster our Rainy Day Fund to safeguard the state from potential future fiscal uncertainty, without foregoing investment in the state’s most critical needs.

Due to the lack of affordable housing, constituents like mine are one paycheck away from having their families, and children become homeless. It is unfathomable to expect our homeless students to focus and perform in schools, when they do not have a place to live.  After years of an exacerbated homeless and housing crisis, the Governor has allocated $1 billion to boost the states’ effort to combat homelessness, and $1.75 billion to increase housing production. My focus remains on the state’s homeless and housing crisis.

The Governor and I can both agree that every student in California deserves to succeed. I agree with the Governor’s dedicated funding on enrollment slots for our low-income preschool students, provide resources to train and retain our K-12 classroom educators, make college affordable through free tuition to full-time students at community colleges and prevent tuition increases at our UCs and CSUs. I am also particularly pleased to see that the Governor recognized and provided funds to our computer science education and STEM programs. I believe that is a fantastic early investment opportunity to cultivate our next generation’s work force. There is still much to do, but this is a good start.

The Governor has proven himself to be a champion of working families through his relief efforts in providing more paid time off for parents to bond with their newborns, and provide tax exemptions for feminine hygiene products and diapers. 

I fully support the Governor’s action to allocate $9.6 million ongoing funds for the continuation of language access and interpreter services in the Judicial System. This eliminates barriers and provides relief for non-English speakers and English as a second language learner to have equal protection rights in the court systems.

Lastly, I commend the Governor’s efforts to tripling the state’s earned income tax credit to $1.2 billion, to eliminate additional burdens on low-income families by allowing Californians to keep what they have earned.

I look forward to continue working with the Governor, and my colleagues to carry the, ‘California for All’ momentum.” 

The Governor’s proposed budget can be found here: http://www.ebudget.ca.gov/2019-20/pdf/Revised/BudgetSummary/FullBudgetSummary.pdf

Assemblywoman Rivas proudly represents the 39th Assembly District, which includes the communities of Arleta, Lake View Terrace, Granada Hills, Mission Hills, North Hollywood, Pacoima, Sun Valley, Sunland-Tujunga, Sylmar, and San Fernando.

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