LETTER FROM DON STOKES TXMPA PRESIDENT
It is my extreme pleasure to report a very successful legislative session for the moving image industry. TXMPA has played an integral roll in the passage of HB 873 which created our enhanced and flexible incentive program as well as HB 2521 which creates guidelines for preferred vendor status for Texas based companies in producing media-related services for the State and SB 1929 which creates media production development zones which encourages the creation and development of production infrastructure like sound stages. Of equal importance, our full funding request of $62 million dollars for HB 873 was passed by both the House and Senate.
Congratulations to all of you who assisted in these achievements. None of this would have been possible without our industry coming together and speaking with a singular voice. Thanks again to all of you who participated in Lobby Day and spoke as witnesses in the various committee hearings. We also owe thanks to our friends at HillCo Partners who lobbied tirelessly to make sure our message was heard and that legislators understood that we only wanted what benefited both our industry and the State. And finally I want to express our gratitude to the Texas Film Commission for all of work and efforts they put forth on our behalf. Our success was truly a team effort. Take a moment to bask in our successes, but only a moment.
Now is the time to follow through on our commitments and gear up for the future. While it was a huge victory to create an incentive program with flexibility that doesn’t require us to seek brand new governing legislation every two years, there are still things we need to do. We have to honor the financial commitments we made that made our successful campaign possible. We are facing a shortfall of $40,000 just to see us through September and we need additional funds to prepare for the next legislative session. Membership renewal notices are going out as your current memberships expire and I encourage all of you to rejoin as soon as possible. However, relying solely on membership renewals won’t get the job done. Please encourage your friends in the industry that aren’t members to join. We also need our existing, previous, and new Sponsors to renew and step up to assist us financially. I know we are still suffering through a tough economic time, but I believe our efforts will pay off in new work for us all.
Elections for new representatives to the TXMPA Board are coming up and all of you need to participate. Twelve Board seats are up for election and we know that there will be some new faces. Watch for notices about how to become a candidate and about our new voting procedures. Plan to attend your regional meetings as well as the annual meeting in San Marcos on June 27.
The tasks the new Board faces are critical to the success of our industry. First and foremost is creating a permanent funding solution so we don’t have to battle down to the closing moments of the legislative session to assure that we have the money in the State’s budget to assure the success of our program. This will require an Economic Impact Study to track the success of our program and show that we return more to the State than our incentives take out. This is something that will have to be funded by TXMPA. Also, as recent events have called to light, we will continue our efforts to lobby for modification to the existing content clause provision of our incentive bill. We will also monitor and provide input on the Rules which govern the incentives to look for ways to enhance their ability to bring work to Texas.
TXMPA is still growing and maturing in its role as an industry advocate. Help us transition as a professional organization while retaining the passion and spirit our grass roots efforts have created. Again, thanks to all of you for making the efforts of TXMPA a success.
Don Stokes
President, TXMPA
Congratulations to all of you who assisted in these achievements. None of this would have been possible without our industry coming together and speaking with a singular voice. Thanks again to all of you who participated in Lobby Day and spoke as witnesses in the various committee hearings. We also owe thanks to our friends at HillCo Partners who lobbied tirelessly to make sure our message was heard and that legislators understood that we only wanted what benefited both our industry and the State. And finally I want to express our gratitude to the Texas Film Commission for all of work and efforts they put forth on our behalf. Our success was truly a team effort. Take a moment to bask in our successes, but only a moment.
Now is the time to follow through on our commitments and gear up for the future. While it was a huge victory to create an incentive program with flexibility that doesn’t require us to seek brand new governing legislation every two years, there are still things we need to do. We have to honor the financial commitments we made that made our successful campaign possible. We are facing a shortfall of $40,000 just to see us through September and we need additional funds to prepare for the next legislative session. Membership renewal notices are going out as your current memberships expire and I encourage all of you to rejoin as soon as possible. However, relying solely on membership renewals won’t get the job done. Please encourage your friends in the industry that aren’t members to join. We also need our existing, previous, and new Sponsors to renew and step up to assist us financially. I know we are still suffering through a tough economic time, but I believe our efforts will pay off in new work for us all.
Elections for new representatives to the TXMPA Board are coming up and all of you need to participate. Twelve Board seats are up for election and we know that there will be some new faces. Watch for notices about how to become a candidate and about our new voting procedures. Plan to attend your regional meetings as well as the annual meeting in San Marcos on June 27.
The tasks the new Board faces are critical to the success of our industry. First and foremost is creating a permanent funding solution so we don’t have to battle down to the closing moments of the legislative session to assure that we have the money in the State’s budget to assure the success of our program. This will require an Economic Impact Study to track the success of our program and show that we return more to the State than our incentives take out. This is something that will have to be funded by TXMPA. Also, as recent events have called to light, we will continue our efforts to lobby for modification to the existing content clause provision of our incentive bill. We will also monitor and provide input on the Rules which govern the incentives to look for ways to enhance their ability to bring work to Texas.
TXMPA is still growing and maturing in its role as an industry advocate. Help us transition as a professional organization while retaining the passion and spirit our grass roots efforts have created. Again, thanks to all of you for making the efforts of TXMPA a success.
Don Stokes
President, TXMPA
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