California: Governor Newsom expands film and TV tax credits with new legislation, creates tax credit to support post-production jobs
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Sep 19, 2026

Governor Newsom expands film and TV tax credits with new legislation, creates tax credit to support post-production jobs

What you need to know: Governor Newsom signed two bills to support thousands of film and television jobs in California by strengthening the state's Film and TV Tax Credit Program and creating a new tax credit for post production work including editing, sound, and special effects in the Golden State.

LOS ANGELES –  Doubling down on California's role as the home of the entertainment industry, Governor Newsom signed new legislation further expanding California's nation-leading film and television tax credit program and creating a new tax credit to support workers in all areas of post-production, including picture editorial, sound, music, visual effects , and finishing.

This adds to the Governor's previous expansion of the program in 2025, which more than doubled the tax credit from $330 million to $750 million last July and opened it to a broader range of television and animated productions. Since the expansion, the Governor has announced 170 projects that together are expected to bring more than $6.6 billion in economic activity and nearly 35,000 cast and crew jobs across California.

To see the impact this program is having, the Governor visited the cast and crew of the award-winning series The Pitt, a Film & Television Tax Credit Program awardee.

California is the nation's entertainment capital. It is the home of storytellers, dreamers, artists, entrepreneurs, and creators who define culture for the rest of the world. This legislation protects the extraordinary people who make this industry possible and makes it unmistakably clear: California is still the future of film and television. We have the talent. We have the infrastructure. We have the creative community. And we have an ecosystem that simply cannot be replicated anywhere else.

Governor Gavin Newsom

The Film and Television Tax Credit has generated billions of dollars of economic activity in the state, supported hundreds of thousands of cast and crew jobs, and brought productions back where they belong: here in California.

Today's announcement:

✅Creates a tax credit for post production work supporting the editors, visual effects artists, musicians, and other creatives who bring film and television to life, Assembly Bill 2319 by Assemblymember Nick Schultz (D-Burbank).

✅Strengthens the current tax credit program by making credits more valuable through enhanced refundability and supports independent productions by exempting some of their tax credits from the temporary credit limitation starting in 2027, Senate Bill 186 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review).

The Governor signed Assembly Bill 2319 at the Television Academy in Hollywood, supporting thousands of Californians working in post-production.

Today's action will maintain the state's competitiveness so creators continue to make movies and shows in California – and keep bringing brilliant stories to life," said Arlen Valdivia, Vice President, State Government Affairs, Motion Picture Association. "We thank Governor Newsom for his continued support for our industry's health."

"This is a historic day for Editors Guild members and for California's film and TV workers more broadly," said Editors Guild National Executive Director Scott George. "AB 186 ensures that the California Film and TV Tax Credit Program continues to drive the recovery of our industry in its historic home, and AB 2319 will complement the program by making sure that even projects shooting outside of our state can come back to California to employ Editors Guild members in post-production. We owe a debt of gratitude to the Governor for his signatures today and for his record as a longstanding champion of our industry, to Assemblymember Nick Schultz and to all the legislators who recognize the value of entertainment industry workers to our state's economy, to the California IATSE Council for its powerful advocacy, and, of course, to our partners in the California Post Alliance."

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"Today marks a historic new chapter for California's post-production workforce. The signing of AB 2319 recognizes the vital role that behind-the-scenes craftspeople play in California's creative economy," said Marielle Abaunza, President, California Post Alliance Leadership. "We are deeply grateful to Governor Newsom who, by establishing California's first ever standalone post-production tax incentive, has given hope to thousands of post-production workers. We are so grateful to Assemblymember Nick Schultz and his entire team for authoring this bill and championing our segment of the industry every step of the way. With the support of our co-sponsors MPEG (Local 700) we got this bill across the finish line on behalf of the community we love, and what better place to shine a light on our post community than the stage of an organization like the Television Academy – one that celebrates and elevates the craft we're so proud to be part of."

California's film and TV industry

Since its inception in 2009, California's Film & Television Tax Credit Program has generated over $34.2 billion in economic activity and supported more than 243,000 cast and crew jobs across the state. In years past, for every $1.00 of tax credit awarded, California has seen massive returns: $24.40 in economic output, $16.14 in GDP, and $8.60 in wages.

Governor Newsom has drastically expanded the Film & TV Tax Credit program  — first bolstering the state's entertainment industry in 2021 and expanding the Film and TV tax credit, which had already generated over $18 billion in California-based production spending. In 2022, he backed a more than billion dollar extension of the California Film and TV tax credit, and in 2025, he more than doubled the program — from $330 million to $750 million — and introduced key updates to keep production, below-the-line jobs, and investments rooted in California.

Last year, Governor Newsom called on Trump to work with California to create a national film and tv tax credit program modeled off of California's successful program.

Legislation signed by the governor also ensured the construction of new soundstages supports high-road jobs by requiring prevailing wages and setting labor standards for construction and ongoing maintenance. Creating pathways for more Californians to access film and television industry jobs. Under Governor Newsom's leadership, the California Film Commission also implemented a pilot program to provide technical skills training to individuals from underserved communities.

As other states have restricted reproductive freedoms and rights in 2022, Governor Newsom stood with entertainment workers and called upon the industry to protect pregnant employees in states where abortion is outlawed. In 2024, Governor Newsom, joined by actress and singer Demi Lovato, signed historic legislation to ensure children and teenagers who perform in online content are protected from financial abuse, building on work done in 2019 to strengthen protections for infant performers.

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Recently, Governor Newsom strengthened worker protections signed into law in 2024, helping actors and performers protect their digital likenesses in audio and visual productions. These protections help ensure performers' legal rights when negotiating the use of digital replicas and establish rules for recreating the likenesses of performers who have passed away.

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