California lawmakers have introduced emergency legislation aimed at reducing the impact of new state business tax-credit limits on film and television productions. The move matters because the limits could undermine California’s expanded $750 million production-incentive programme and make the state less competitive for projects that can be filmed elsewhere.

The proposal would exempt independent productions from the caps and improve the terms for productions that cash in part of their credits, allowing them to monetise 95% rather than 90% and receive funds within two years instead of five. It would also extend the use period for recently awarded credits from nine to 15 years for productions actively filming in California, but would not fully exempt major productions; lawmakers must pass it before the legislative session ends on 31 August.