This story was reported for San Diego News Network on October 27, 2009.
Actors, directors, and other professionals in the film industry will continue working in the state while Californians below the poverty line can now obtain free legal advice. But there are more happenings in the West Coast state, so keep reading.
Film Industry, you’re staying here: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced Monday that 36 film and television productions, which were set to film in another state, will now film in California. Why, you ask?
Well, Schwarzenegger heavily campaigned for the passage of California’s Film and Television Incentive Program, succeeded and signed it into law in February. The program gives qualified productions a tax credit and in turn, jobs are made available in the state.
According to Schwarzenegger’s office, 50 productions have been approved for the program with 36 scheduled to shoot this quarter. Among the 50 approved projects, 25 are for independent feature films, 22 percent are for non-independent features, eight percent are for DVD films, 14 percent are for movies of the week and six percent are for TV series.
“I’m thrilled by the early success of our program – it’s having an immediate impact,” Schwarzenegger said. “Productions that were slated to film outside the state have shifted gears and are now shooting in California because of our film and television incentive. This is not only great news for our production workers, but for the thousands of small businesses that support film and television production in California and our state’s economy as a whole.”
Legal advice: In-state families of four with an annual income of $44,100 or less qualify for free legal services, thanks to another new law signed by Schwarzenegger. (As a point of reference, $44,100 is twice the annual income of the federal poverty guideline – $21,834 for a family of two adults with two children.)
According to the Wall Street Journal, Schwarzenegger signed into law the bill that would assist California’s poor in the courtrooms. Although, the law has garnered much support, it has also been widely criticized.
“A new California law that gives poor residents the right to an attorney in civil matters such as child custody and foreclosure is being hailed as a model that could transform the nation’s legal landscape. But critics argue that the law will result in a wave of case backlogs and could further burden court budgets.”
According to the WSJ, “California is the first state to enact such a sweeping mandate.” Yet, Washington lawyer Ted Frank believes “the new law will result in more waste in the court system.”
The law will go into effect in 2011.
Those textbooks are still good: A new bill will allow California school districts to sell their old textbooks, rather than give them away.
Authored by Assemblymember Joel Anderson (R-El Cajon), AB 487 dismisses the current law that forces school districts to donate old textbooks and sell them for cash to be returned to the schools.
Anderson said the idea came out of the La Mesa School District, whose board members were frustrated with the current law.
“The La Mesa Spring Valley school board has always been very innovative and fiscally sound. When I heard their idea, I wanted to do whatever was within my power to help their students,” said Anderson. “In these tough times we must re-evaluate everything we do to make sure we are providing the best services for our students as efficiently as possible. That is why I appreciated so much what the (LMVSD) board was trying to accomplish.”
The bill passed both houses unanimously and was signed into law by Schwarzenegger on Oct. 11.
Millions of “waste”: The California Taxpayers’ Association released a report Tuesday finding that “more than $600 million” have been wasted by state and local governments.
“The amount of government waste is shocking, especially when taxpayers are being asked to give more and more of their paychecks to the government,” said the association’s president Teresa Casazza. “Almost every government agency claims to be suffering due to cutbacks, yet the media continues to uncover example after example of tax dollars being squandered.”
The study was compiled through news reports of “waste, and totaled the costs of the examples that could be quantified.”
Casazza asked that the “waste, fraud and mismanagement” be investigated.
In unrelated budget news but related to the governor: Lightening up the news with some entertainment – it was recently announced that Schwarzenegger will join a cast of all-star ‘80s action heroes, in the new movie “The Expendables.”
Directed by Sylvester Stallone, the movie is about a group of men who go to South America to over throw a dictator. Schwarzenegger will have a cameo in the movie, which will star Stallone, Bruce Willis, Jet Li, Jason Statham and other action heroes.
Bringing it back to the state’s economy, parts of the movie have already been filmed in Los Angeles.
Hoa Quach is the political editor for the San Diego News Network.