The Louisiana Film and Entertainment Association or LFEA has results of a wide reaching economic development study that probes the impact of the industry on Louisiana.
The association plans to present the findings by a New York consultancy firm to state lawmakers when the 2015 Legislative session begins.
The LFEA’s Raelynn Tammariello Loop led a successful Kickstarter campaign last year raising almost $60,000 for a study that cost the LFEA $150,000.
She says the in-depth report will help Louisiana’s entertainment industry show how the Louisiana Motion Picture Investor Tax Credit program is working for the state.
“The Louisiana Legislature and some people in the press feel that the Motion Picture Tax Incentive Program is gratuitous. However, we at the association -- 15,000 people who work in the industry in the state -- know that this is a well-paying, clean, exciting industry,” Tammariello Loop said.
Loop chaired a campaign called “Here’s My $2 Bucks.” It showcased stories of people who work in the state’s film industry. Loop says in 60 days about 600 people donated to the Kickstarter campaign, mostly from outside the association. She says state lawmakers had asked for an independent study like this.
“What we decided this year going into the session is instead of battling it out, that we would take matters into our own hands and fund our own economic impact study to prove the numbers,” Tammariello Loop said.
Loop says the LFEA worked with lawmakers last year trying to find ways to streamline the state’s film tax credit program that is considered one of the most generous in the country.
She says the LFEA will be prepared to explain the industry’s ripple effect and answer questions from lawmakers backed by the study by HR&A Advisors.
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