A Letter from the LFEA President:
Dear LFEA Members and Film Industry Supporters:
This is the most important action ever requested of you. Please stop what you're doing. Make sure all of your colleagues, co-workers, family members and employees stop what they are doing. There is very little time to get this done.
Information: The Legislature is poised to pass a bill that will cap tax credit certifications at $180 million and cap tax credit claims/redemptions at $180 million. These caps will be catastrophic to our industry, and the cap on claims is illegal and represents an abrogation of vested rights. The bill is expected to be finalized in the coming hours and sent to the Governor for signature. The worst part is that the bill is expected to generate $70 million in savings for the current fiscal year, which is simply impossible to do without the illegal "takings" clause embedded in the cap on claims. So, the Legislature is poised to rely on funds which clearly will not materialize once the law is challenged in court. But, how much damage to our industry will have occurred in the interim? And what other state programs will have to be slashed mid-year once this illegal scheme is invalidated? They must be stopped. NOW!
Action Needed: Send a personal e-mail (professional, personalized, intelligent, and respectful) to every legislator and the Governor urging them to abandon the push to create an illegal mechanism to create phantom savings. Tell them not to kill our industry, not to break the law, not to make a mockery of the legislative process. Tell them to craft their budget responsibly.
LFEA has offered a wide range of viable measures to eliminate fraud, increase ROI, reduce program costs and grow a sustainable film industry for Louisiana. But, all of those efforts are about to be wasted due to the Legislature's budget shenanigans.
If this law passes the House and Senate, hopefully the Governor will have the wisdom to veto it. If he doesn't, LFEA will lead the way to challenge the law in court immediately after it is signed.
USE THE ACTION CENTER BELOW TO SEND YOUR MESSAGE TO ALL LEGISLATORS AND THE GOVERNOR!
|
