SAG-AFTRA president Sean Astin has publicly urged California Governor Gavin Newsom to fund AB 2319, a proposed tax credit aimed at keeping postproduction film and television work in the state. In a video message shown at a California Post Alliance town hall, Astin said the union stands behind its postproduction members, including voiceover artists and loop groups, warning that work is being lost to overseas competitors offering more attractive incentives. His intervention marks an escalation of union advocacy, following an earlier SAG-AFTRA letter of support, and adds weight to a campaign already backed by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, Netflix, Apple, the Television Academy and the California IATSE Council.

Newsom's final budget, unveiled on 29 June, did not include funding for the bill, meaning supporters must now push for it via a trailer bill as it moves through the state legislature. AB 2319, introduced by Assemblymember Nick Schultz and sponsored by the California Post Alliance with the Editors Guild as co-sponsor, would offer a 35 percent base tax credit for postproduction work done in California, even when principal photography takes place elsewhere. The bill has cleared the state Assembly and is due before the Senate Appropriations Committee on 3 August, amid a tight budget year for California.