Title: Film and Television Production

Summary: Establishes Florida Film Investment Corporation; provides powers of corporation; provides requirements for corporation to make equity investments in productions; establishes Florida Film Investment Account; establishes corporation's board of directors; provides for appointment of corporation's president; provides powers & duties of board & president.

Full Text:
An act relating to film and television production; creating s. 288.1259, F.S.; providing definitions; establishing the Florida Film Investment Corporation; providing powers of the corporation; providing requirements for the corporation to make equity investments in productions; establishing the Florida Film Investment Account; establishing the corporation's board of directors; providing for appointment of the corporat ion's president; providing powers and duties of the board and president; providing an effective date. Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: Section 1. Section 288.1259, Florida Statutes, is created to read: 288.1259 Florida Film Investment Corporation.-(1) DEFINITIONS.-As used in this section, the term: (a) "Account" means the Florida Film Investment Account. (b) "Board" means the corporation's board of directors. (c) "Corporation" means the Florida Film Investment Corporation. (e) "In-state expenditures" means the costs of tangible property used in this state, and services performed by residents HB 1345 2017 of this state, for scripted production, including preproduction and postproduction, but excluding costs for development, marketing, and distribution. (f) "President" means the chief executive officer of the corporation. (g) "Scripted production" or "production" means a feature film of at least minutes, whether produced for theatrical, television, or direct-to-video re lease; a television series created to run multiple seasons having an order for distribution of at least five episodes; or a miniseries that is produced predominately from a written screenplay or teleplay. The term does not include a commercial, infomercial,or political advertisement; a reality show; a game show; an awards show; a music video; an industrial or educational film; a weather or market program; a sporting event or sporting event broadcast; a gala; a production that solicits funds; a home shoppin gprogram; a political program; a documentary; a gambling-related production; a concert production; a local, regional, or Internet-distributed-only news show or current-events show; a sports news or sports recap show; a video game; a pornographic productio n; or any production deemed obscene under chapter 847. A production may be produced on or by film, tape, or otherwise by means of a motion picture camera; an electronic camera or device; a tape device; computer; any combination of the foregoing; or any oth er means, method, or device. HB 1345 2017 (h) "Television" includes broadcast, cable, and Internet television. (2) CORPORATION.-The Florida Film Investment Corporation is created as a corporation not for profit, to be incorporated under chapter and approved by the Department of State. The corporation shall be organized on a nonstock basis. The purpose of the corporation is to encourage this state to be used as a site for scripted productions through equity investment in such productions. (3) POWERS AND LIMITAT IONS.-(a) The corporation is authorized to make equity investments in scripted productions in this state pursuant to the criteria, bylaws, rules, and policies adopted by the board, which must include the following: 1. The corporation shall make invest ments in productions that it estimates will generate maximum economic impact to the state through the provision of high-wage jobs for Florida residents and significant in-state expenditures. 2. The amount of the corporation's investment in a production must not exceed the amount of the production's in state expenditures for that production. 3. The corporation's investment in a production must rank and remain equal with the highest class of ownership in the production, such that, in the event of liquidat ion or bankruptcy, the corporation's investment shares the highest HB 1345 2017 priority with other preferred shareholders. 4. An equity investment made by the corporation under this section must be less than one-half of the production's total shares or other ownersh ip interest. 5. The amount of the corporation's investment in any one production must not exceed 12.5 percent of the sum of the remaining amount of uncommitted funds in the account plus the amounts of all outstanding investments in other productions. 6. The corporation must not have any voting rights, creative control, or management authority over a production receiving an equity investment under this section. 7. The corporation shall limit the return on its investments by establishing variable limits on returns which account for time value and reduce returns in exchange for a production's early buyout of investment equity. For a production exercising an early buyout, the corporation shall limit its return on investment to the minimum that is actuarial ly measurable and credible and sufficiently related to actual and expected losses to ensure the corporation's self-sufficiency and preservation of the state appropriations provided to the corporation for investment. 8. The corporation shall conduct at le ast two investment cycles per fiscal year, providing no more than percent of the total investment in productions made by the corporation for the fiscal year in any one investment cycle. HB 1345 2017 (b) The board shall adopt objective criteria for making equity in vestments in scripted productions in this state. The criteria shall give preference to: 1. Productions with the greatest economic impact to the state as demonstrated by the greatest number of high-wage jobs provided for state residents and the greatest a mount of in-state expenditures as a percentage of total production expenditures. 2. Productions in which the proposed investment by the corporation is lowest as a percentage of the production's total shares or other ownership interest. 3. Productions with the quickest deployment, in which the production's in-state expenditures will be made soonest after the corporation's investment. 4. Productions by companies with a verifiable track record in producing successful productions. 5. Productions by stat e-based production companies or by producers, writers, or directors who are residents of the state. 6. Productions estimated to significantly increase tourism to the state by using a screenplay or teleplay based on a Florida story or including recognizab le state locations. 7. Productions whose development demonstrates the likelihood of their success, including, but not limited to, having a recognized director, actor, or other creative talent attached to the production. 8. Productions in which the corp oration's investment is HB 1345 2017 matched from local sources, such as county or municipal agencies, local film commissions, or other community resources. (c) The corporation may charge fees, such as application fees from productions seeking equity investment under this section, but such a fee may not exceed the reasonable estimated cost of performing the activity for which the fee is charged, such as the cost of processing an application. (4) ACCOUNT.-(a) The board shall create the Florida Film Investment Account for the purpose of receiving state, federal, county, municipal, and private financial resources, and the return from investments of those resources, and for the purposes of this section. The account shall be under the exclusive control of the board. (b) Appropriations provided to the corporation for making equity investments shall be deposited into the account. (c) The board may deposit the resources of the account designated for the purposes of this section with state or federally chartered financi al institutions in this state and may invest the remaining portion in permissible investments. (d) Dividend payments received from the investments made by the corporation shall be redeposited in the account to be used to support the purposes of this sect ion. (e) The corporation shall keep its operating expenses to the minimum necessary. Such operating expenses shall be funded HB 1345 2017 by appropriations provided for that purpose and from net returns on investments made under this section. (f) Any claims against the account shall be paid solely from the account. Under no circumstances shall the credit of the state be pledged other than funds appropriated by law to the account, nor shall the state be liable or obligated in any way for claims on the account or agai nst the corporation. (5) BOARD OF DIRECTORS; POWERS AND DUTIES.-(a)1. The corporation shall have a board of directors consisting of seven members who are permanent residents of the state. Minority and gender representation must be considered when making appointments to the board. The board shall be composed of the following members: a. Two members who have experience in investment banking and funds management focused on feature film and television production. b. Three members who have recent ex perience and are recognized leaders in the production of feature films or television in this state, including, but not limited to, producers, directors, production managers or supervisors, or similar persons in positions of production leadership. c. One member who represents businesses that provide supplies for feature film and television production in the state, including, but not limited to, small businesses through which productions buy or rent equipment, house and feed cast and HB 1345 2017 crew, purchase supplies and raw materials, or build production infrastructure. d. One member who represents the state's feature film and television workforce. 2. The initial board of directors shall be appointed as follows: a. The Florida Venture Forum and the Florida Cham ber of Commerce shall each appoint one member pursuant to sub subparagraph 1.a. b. The Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall each appoint one member pursuant to sub-subparagraph 1.b. c. The Department of Economic Opportunity shall appoint one member pursuant to sub-subparagraph 1.c. d. The Congress of Motion Picture Associations of Florida shall appoint one member pursuant to sub-subparagraph 1.d. To establish staggered terms, three of the initial board members shall be appointed to-year terms, two initial board members shall be appointed to-year terms, and two initial board members shall be appointed to-year terms. 3. Board members shall serve for terms of years each and be eligi ble for reappointment. Vacancies shall be filled by the board within days after the vacancy occurs. (b) Board members are subject to the code of ethics for HB 1345 2017 public officers and employees under part III of chapter 112. A board member must abstain from voting and comply with the disclosure requirements of s. 112.3143 if there appears to be a possible conflict under s. 112.311, s. 112.313, or s. 112.3143. This paragraph does not prohibit any principal by whom a board member is retained, as described in s. 112.3143(1)(a), from applying for or receiving an equity investment under this section. (c) A board member must, with respect to an application for an equity investment which is currently pending before the corporation or which the board member knows or reasonably expects will be submitted to the corporation within days, refrain from commenting on or discussing the application outside of a board meeting with the applicant or any person retained by the applicant. (d) Board members shall serve without compensation but may be reimbursed for all necessary expenses in the performance of their duties, including attending board meetings and conducting board business. (e) The board shall: 1. Before the expenditure of funds from the Florida Film Investmen tAccount, adopt bylaws, rules, and policies that are necessary to carry out the corporation's responsibilities under this section. 2. Hold regularly scheduled meetings, at least once per HB 1345 2017 investment cycle, in order to carry out the objectives and responsibilities of the board. (6) PRESIDENT OF THE CORPORATION.-(a) The board shall appoint a president. The president shall be knowledgeable about private and public financing of feature film and television projects. (b) The president shall serve at the pleasure of the board and shall receive a salary and benefits as shall be fixed by the board. (c) The president shall administer the programs of the corporation and perform such duties as shall be delegated by the board. (e) The president shall provide staff to the board as requested. (f) The president shall submit an annual budget to be approved by the board. (7) PUBLIC NOTICE OF INVESTMENTS.-The corporation shall notify the Department of Economic Opportunity upon final execution of each contract or agreement by which the corporation makes an equity investment in a production. The corporation shall also publish and maintain a copy of the notice on the corporation's website while the investment remains outstanding. To provide adequate notice to the businesses and workforce that provide supplies for feature film and television production in the state, the notice shall include, but need not be limited to, HB 1345 2017 a brief description of the production, the name of the production company, and, to the extent avail able, the names of the director, cinematographer, production designer, costume designer, and transportation coordinator. Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2017.