HONOLULU (KHON2) — A bill that would have provided more tax incentives to the film industry for filming in the islands was deferred on April 25 on the last day of the legislative session.
According to lawmakers, an agreement over the tax credit amount could not be reached.
The most recent major production to film in Hawaiʻi was “Rescue: HI-Surf,” with the wrapping and potential cancellation of the show marking the first time in 25 years that there has been no active production in the islands.
“Rescue: HI-Surf” featured 2,100 local cast and crew who earned almost $32 million in wages and contributed $34 million to the local economy, according to the Honolulu Film Commissioner.
Industry experts estimate the film and television production industries spend $400 million in Hawaiʻi annually when projects are regularly filming.
“The spend of $400 million on average annually is what the production industry has been here. We all want to see that move to a billion dollar industry,” said Georja Skinner, the Division of Business, Economic Development and Tourism Creative Industries division chief. “In order to do that, you need a solid tax credit you can count on, you need more infrastructure built for the future and you also need to have some sort of industry group that is going to lead that.”
Experts say one of the main contributing causes to the decline in the film industry is the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.