The Nevada Senate has again rejected a $120 million annual subsidy for film and TV production, which would have enabled construction of a new soundstage facility in Las Vegas.
The bill, AB 5, fell one vote short of a majority during a special session on Wednesday night, with 10 members in favor, 8 opposed, and 3 absent. The state Senate failed to pass similar legislation during the regular session in June.
Proponents believed they had enough votes to pass the bill when Gov. Joe Lombardo called the Legislature into special session a week ago. Lombardo, a Republican, expressed his disappointment in a statement on X, saying “Nevadans deserved action now — not years from now – on the issues that most impact their daily lives.”
Howard Hughes Holdings teamed with Sony Pictures and Warner Bros. to propose the Summerlin Studios project. It was first pitched to the Legislature in 2023, but has now failed to win passage three times.
The two film studios originally backed rival projects in Las Vegas, but they joined forces in February to support the Summerlin plan, with the idea that both would film projects there. Earlier this fall, the Nevada construction unions made a concerted push to get the measure on the special session agenda.
“The real push to get the governor to put it on the agenda didn’t come from Howard Hughes, Sony or Warner Bros.,” said David O’Reilly, CEO of Howard Hughes Holdings. “It came from organized labor.”
Under the proposal, the state would offer up to $95 million a year in subsidies to projects that film at the Summerlin facility, and another $25 million to projects that shoot elsewhere. The subsidies would have run for 15 years, from 2029 through 2044.
The measure was narrowly approved by the state Assembly on Sunday by a vote of 22-20.
The bill faced opposition from both the right and the left. Americans for Prosperity Nevada, a conservative group, called it a “corporate giveaway” that would generate just 23 cents for every dollar invested.
Some liberal groups, meanwhile, warned that it would reduce the funding available for healthcare and climate initiatives.
Vince Saavedra, the executive secretary-treasurer of the Southern Nevada Building Trades, championed the measure as a jobs generator, but said lawmakers faced “bullies” on both sides of the spectrum.
Though Nevada narrowly rejected film subsidies, the trend remains in the opposite direction. California and New York both expanded their programs this year, and Texas recently increased its film incentive to $300 million every two years.
variety.com
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