Xavier Becerra, the leading Democrat in the race for California governor, called on Friday for a summit of studio, labor and tech leaders to address the sharp drop in Hollywood jobs.
Becerra becomes the latest candidate to offer a proposal to revive the entertainment industry, which has lost 51,000 production jobs in the last three years. He promised to expand the state’s incentive for film and TV production, but unlike some other candidates, he did not pledge to eliminate the $750 million cap.
“Where demand is real, where jobs follow, and where the return to California justifies it, I intend to increase the program’s scale, capacity and access,” Becerra said.
Becerra’s chief Democratic rival, billionaire Tom Steyer, first called for an expansion of the state’s tax incentive in March. Matt Mahan, the mayor of San Jose, and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa upped the ante in April, saying they would make the program unlimited.
The leading Republican, Steve Hilton, likewise called for eliminating the cap on the program and expanding eligible expenses to include salaries for actors and producers. All three of the top candidates for Los Angeles mayor have since called for eliminating the cap as well.
