City Council

(1)\n25-1081\nCONTINUED CONSIDERATION OF PUBLIC WORKS and\nECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND JOBS COMMITTEES’ REPORT\nrelative to exploring opportunities to assist vertical content creators by\nestablishing a grant program that provides upfront funding to\nincentivize local production, and related matters.\nA. PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE REPORT\nRecommendations for Council action:\n1. DIRECT the Economic and Workforce Development\nDepartment (EWDD), with the assistance of the Board of\nPublic Works (BPW), to report with:\na. Economic development tools to attract long-term\nindustry infrastructure investments.\nb. Explore how to leverage EWDD's special funds and\nother funding sources to finance a targeted local\nincentive to complement the State credit and reward\nlocal hiring.\nc. Review permit fee structure for small and\nindependent productions to improve competitiveness\nfor local productions, with a "Micro-Budget\nConcierge" service at FilmLA guaranteeing a 3-day\npermit turnaround.\nd. Identify opportunities to offer augmented in-kind cost\noffsets (e.g. reduce or waive all city service fees for\nqualifying productions).\ne. Explore complementary tools and incentives to\nenhance the impact of the State's expanded Film &\nTelevision Tax Credit Program and to boost local\nproduction for vertical content in Los Angeles.\n2. DIRECT the Office of Finance, with the assistance of the\nEWDD and BPW, to report with tax rebate opportunities\nfor property owners who offer discounted rates to\nqualifying productions to increase inventory of affordable\nlocations for vertical content creators.\n3. DIRECT the Chief Legislative Analyst (CLA), with\nassistance from the EWDD and City Administrative Officer,\nto identify $5,000,000 in public and/or private/philanthropic\nfunding sources to establish a "40% Launch & Rebate"\ngrant, which provides up-front funding to micro-drama\nproductions offering a 40 rebate on qualifying LA\nexpenditures with an initial 20% upfront grant upon project\napproval to address cash-flow for small productions, and\nthe final 20% paid upon completion.\nB. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND JOBS COMMITTEE\nREPORT\nRecommendations for Council action:\n1. CONCUR with the recommendations of the Public Works\nCommittee.\n2. DIRECT the EWDD and CLA to report to Council on\nrecommending a feasible production threshold to impose\nemployer-sponsored portable healthcare labor standards\nthat will not be detrimental to the budget of the project.\nFiscal Impact Statement: Not applicable