A law enacting new rules for Louisiana’s film tax credit program aims to revive the state’s stagnant film industry.
Act. 44, signed by Gov. Jeff Landry earlier this month, expands the power of the state’s economic development agency to make changes to the incentive program — a program whose proponents say is crucial in bringing productions to the state.
“This bill will allow us to further develop our incentive toolkit so that we can increase our competitiveness with other states,” said Chris Stelly, director of legislative affairs for Louisiana Economic Development.
Economic factors have hurt the film industry nationwide in recent years, and Louisiana’s industry has experienced a significant decrease in activity. According to Louisiana Entertainment, only one production was active in the state as of May 20.
Officials with LED, the agency which oversees the film tax credit program, hopes the new law will give them flexibility with the program to attract more business to the state.
Verite News spoke with Louisiana’s film industry leaders and insiders to understand the implications of the law and what it could mean for the future of the film industry in “Hollywood South.”
What is the film tax credit program? What’s changed?
Louisiana’s motion picture production program uses tax credits to incentivize productions to film in the state. The credits reduce what production companies pay in taxes. Louisiana is one of 37 states that offer a film incentive, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Louisiana was the first state to adopt a film tax credit in 1992. The first iteration of the modern program was adopted in 2002 when LED began administering it.
Under the new law, qualified productions can receive a tax credit of up to 40% of total production expenditures. The program provides a base credit, previously capped at 25%, with additional smaller incentives for filming outside of New Orleans, employing Louisiana residents, performing visual effects services in-state. An incentive is also available for screenplays created by Louisiana residents. The program also gives production companies tax credits for employees on payroll.
A company can use the credit as payment for income tax liability or transfer the credit back to the state and receive a refund check.
The new law doesn’t change the total dollar value of credits the state can issue annually. Louisiana can issue up to $125 million in credits per fiscal year.
Prior to the new law, changing the program required changing state law. Now, LED has more power to adjust the program on its own terms using an administrative rulemaking process.
“LED is looking for more opportunities to make deals and they don’t want to have to have the whims of the fiscal session every two years to go in and do that,” said Jason Waggenspack, president of the industry group Film Louisiana.
Waggenspack said Film Louisiana worked with LED on the legislation.
Although the law doesn’t significantly change the current incentive program, it does remove the credit caps per project and payroll caps per person.
“We took both of those away to allow for the inclusion for bigger projects, which we had a wealth of large projects for several years here in Louisiana [and] we wanted to obviously see that opportunity coming back,” Waggenspack said.
Why did industry leaders want to improve the program?
With more power to amend the program rules, LED plans to adjust the program to be more responsive to evolving industry trends compared to when changes were enacted by the legislature.
LED is also looking to negotiate deals with production companies that the development agency believes bring long-term investments to the state. Such a deal could include raising a production’s base credit or adjusting the per person payroll credits.
Waggenspack pointed to rapper 50 Cent’s G-Unit Films and Television production company, which is building a studio in Shreveport. Waggenspack said 50 Cent is looking to negotiate a deal.
“[If] you want to come and bring long-term projects here … let’s talk to the state and find out a way that it makes it more financially available for you,” Waggenspack said.
Now, proposed changes to the program will go through the rulemaking process, which includes a public hearing and approval from legislative committees, among other steps.
The law also allows for an emergency rulemaking process. Waggenspack said Film Louisiana is currently working with LED on deciding which parts of the program may need to be amended using this process, and a decision will be made in the coming weeks.
Why is Louisiana’s film market struggling? What’s at stake?
Josh Penn, founder and CEO of the New Orleans production company Department of Motion Pictures, said the film market is in upheaval right now. It’s not a problem unique to Louisiana, but the state has “been hit especially hard,” he said.
While production costs are rising, Penn said the revenue model is collapsing, largely due to the decline of theatrical and cable TV as reliable revenue and the takeover of streaming. More and more, productions are shooting overseas to minimize costs, which has contributed to a decline in film jobs in Louisiana over the past few years.
“The new law has the potential to bring significant business and jobs back to the state — if it can truly deliver the most competitive tax credit and bottom-line value for films and studios,” Penn said in an emailed statement.
But he’s worried about the implications of giving LED broad discretionary power on a project-by-project basis. Although it gives the agency flexibility to pursue high-value projects, the “intentional vagueness” of the law could create instability and confusion, he said.
“If filmmakers can’t clearly understand what they can 100% count on from Louisiana’s incentives, they may choose to shoot elsewhere,” he said.
He’s also worried about the implications of allowing a state agency to decide which projects are worth incentivizing and which ones aren’t.
“The most troubling interpretation is that it could be used as a political tool of the governor’s office or other political officials, with projects rewarded or punished based on their subject matter or the individuals involved,” Penn said.
Sen. Adam Bass, R-Bossier City, the sponsor of the legislation, did not respond to a request for comment.
Connor Sullivan is a freelance contractor who manages film crews working on episodic series. He said he has only worked a handful of days in 2025 and hasn’t had full-time work since 2024. Many of his peers in the industry struggled to find work even earlier than that, he said.
“I and everyone else that I know have been spending savings and really going into some pretty deep debt to try to keep afloat as we navigate what the future looks like,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan said he’s cautiously optimistic about the law and hopes that it will clear up the “mixed messaging” he said the state legislature has been sending about the sustainability of the program in Louisiana over the years.
International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 478, which represents film and television crew workers in the region, supports the new law.
“[Act 44] strengthens our ability to attract consistent production, grow local businesses, and create stable, long-term jobs in one of the state’s most impactful creative industries,” union representative Simonette Berry said in a statement.
Waggenspack said that the film industry has been a significant driver of tourism in Louisiana. He referenced “Twilight: Breaking Dawn” and “True Detective” as productions that fostered interest among fans in visiting the state.
“When True Detective was filmed here and became a juggernaut of a [series], we had people calling the New Orleans film office asking, ‘Where can I see the tour for the True Detective movie?’ And it’s like, well, we don’t have a tour for that, but we would love the opportunity to take advantage of those things,” he said.
How has the program changed over the years?
“In research for this bill, one of the things that really stuck out to me — this incentive and statute has changed 30 times in the last 33 years. So it continues to change, it continues to morph. And it is not incredibly agile,” said the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Adam Bass, R-Bossier City, during a May committee hearing.
The program has expanded and contracted over the years, including in 2015 when the program — which at the time had averaged $271 million in credits since 2011 — was capped at $180 million. The same 2015 law also suspended the program’s buyback provision for one year, meaning some productions couldn’t receive refunds on the credits they had earned.
Critics, including some fiscal conservative groups, have scrutinized the program and its purported benefits in past years. A 2017 report by an economist for LED found that Louisiana taxpayers got a return of 22 cents on the dollar for the program, which was thriving at the time.
When the state issues tax credits, it expects to recoup lost revenue in part through an increase in economic activity that a production brings to an area, such as hotel accommodations and restaurants. Individual taxpayers can also make up the difference.
Louisiana’s film tax credit program was at risk of elimination during November’s special session as part of a broader tax reform effort led by the governor.
The bill to end the program passed the House, but a Senate committee later saved the tax credits. The compromise to keep the program involved lowering the cap from $150 million to $125 million per year.
A move to eliminate the program would have been detrimental to the film industry in Louisiana, industry insiders say.