BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1778
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Date of Hearing: May 19, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 1778 (Lieu) - As Amended: May 13, 2010
Policy Committee: Arts Vote:5-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill stipulates that any state agency financing a
commercial promoting the state or a product of the state using
public funds shall require that commercial to be filmed in
California, and specifies that this requirement does not apply
to placement of a California product in any program made by a
private entity and involving an agreement with a state entity.
FISCAL EFFECT
Increased costs, to the extent filming in California is more
costly than filming that would otherwise be done outside the
state. Such costs are likely to be minor from any one fund in
any fiscal year.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose . According to the author, "The purpose of this bill
is to ensure that all commercials made on behalf of the State
of California, and paid for with state funds, are actually
filmed in California. When California taxpayers finance the
filming of a commercial that promotes California or its
products, they expect the money will be spent in California,
using the talents of California workers to support our
economy?A lot of money is spent on promotional commercial
productions every year, and those dollars should be used for
local filming and to support jobs in California."
2)Programs Covered . According the analysis by the Assembly
Committee on Arts, Entertainment, Sports, Tourism, and
Internet Media, two state programs were identified that would
fall under the bill's advertising limits. Both of these
AB 1778
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programs film any commercials in California.
a) The California Travel and Tourism Commission, within the
Business, Transportation, and Housing Agency, which is
responsible for promoting California's image worldwide in
order to increase travel to the state. Current-year
funding for tourism promotion totals about $1.7 million, of
which $900,000 is from the General Fund.
b) The Department of Food and Agriculture's (CDFA's) Buy
California Campaign, a partnership between government and
industry to promote consumption of California-grown
agricultural products to California consumers. This program
began in 2001 with a $5 million state contribution to the
program. Today, according to CDFA, the state contribution
for campaign has dropped to essentially zero, with most of
the funding instead coming from federal grant monies. In
2009-10, the program anticipates expenditures of $740,000
for domestic marketing and another $825,000 for
international marketing of California grown products.
Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081