Mayor Murray announced his support of Senate Bill 6027 (SB 6027), introduced this February in the Washington State Senate to increase the funding for the Motion Picture Competitiveness Program.

The bill doubles the size of the Film Competitiveness Program over the next two years to $7 million, and increases the fund incrementally each year until it reaches $10 million in 2019. The sunset date for the program will also be extended to 2022.

Last year, under the program’s current annual $3.5 million cap, the annual fund was expended by May and a total of $55 million worth of film production projects were immediately turned away.

“Washington's current incentive program is the fifth smallest in the country,” said Mayor Murray. “I support this legislation because it strengthens the State’s best tool to keep our film industry competitive. This program, alongside the City’s Commercialize Seattle initiative, will help retain and increase film industry talent to fuel our creative economy.”

Mayor Murray proclaimed Tues., March 17, 2015 “Seattle Film Day” in honor of Seattle’s 80-plus years as a film making destination.

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Senate Bill 6027
SB 6027's prime sponsor is Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles (D, 36th), with co-sponsors Senator Andy Billig (D, 3rd) and Senator Joe Fain (R, 47th). See the Washington State Legislature page for more details at http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=6027&year=2015#videos

City’s Office of Film + Music (OFM)
The Seattle Office of Film + Music is part of Seattle’s economic development agenda. Its charge is to make Seattle a great place to make a living making film and music. OFM is a streamlined resource for all of your film and music needs, and manages Seattle’s City of Music and Commercialize Seattle initiatives. It offers creative tax incentives and professional business development opportunities, making this vibrant city the perfect background for film or music production.