§ 5502. Eligibility Determination.

(a) Applicant is planning to produce a “Qualified Motion Picture”.

(b) The “Qualified Motion Picture” complies with the provisions of sections 17053.85(b)(15) and 23685(b)(15) of the Revenue and Taxation Code.

(c) The Applicant plans to film at least 75% of Principal Photography days wholly in California or 75% of the Production Budget will be incurred in California. Principal Photography days in California shall not include the filming of primarily backgrounds, visual effects, action and crowd scenes by the second, stunt, or visual effects units.

(d) To qualify as a New Television Series, the television series shall be licensed for original distribution on basic cable with a running time of no less than 60 minutes inclusive of commercials and incidental short clips which may be related or unrelated to the program being broadcast.

(e) To qualify as a Television Series that relocated to California, the Television Series shall meet the following criteria:

(1) A certification from the taxpayer that the tax credit provided pursuant to this section is the primary reason for relocating to California.

(2) Each episode shall be any program length and may be produced for distribution in any media outlet including, but not limited to, basic cable, pay (premium) cable, or network broadcast.

(f) A Television Pilot is not considered a “Qualified Motion Picture” and shall not be eligible for tax credit. Television Pilot means the initial episode produced for a proposed Television Series. This category shall include shorter formats which are known as “television presentation,” a production of at least fifteen (15) minutes in length, produced for the purposes of selling a proposed television series, but not intended for broadcast.

(g) An animated production is not considered a “Qualified Motion Picture” and shall not be eligible for tax credit. Animated production means content created that does not utilize or incorporate live action footage but creates a Motion Picture consisting principally of computer generated or hand painted images. An animated production does not engage in Principal Photography and therefore does not meet the conditions for eligibility set forth in 17053.85(15)(B) and (15)(B)(iv). Any animated production, issued a Credit Allocation Letter in compliance with the emergency regulations, shall continue to be eligible for the tax credits allocated. Any such animated production shall be subject to all the provisions in this chapter, except the first three sentences of this subsection.

(h) A “Feature Film” shall not exceed a maximum Production Budget of $75 million dollars.

(i) An Independent Film issued a Credit Allocation Letter in accordance with the provisions in section 17053.85(b)(6) of the Revenue and Taxation Code, whose budget of qualified expenditures exceeds $10 million, shall be reclassified as a Feature Film. The Applicant shall not be required to submit a new application, but the credit allocation percentage will be adjusted as provided in 5504(a), and the application shall be placed at the end of the queue for any available tax credits in the non-Independent Film allocation category.

(j) Movies of the Week and Mini-Series may be considered an Independent film providing they comply with the provision in section 17053.85(b)(6) and 23685(b)(6) of the Revenue and Taxation Code.

(k) Revocation of the tax credit allocation is final and not subject to administrative appeal or review.

HISTORY

1. New section filed 5-29-2009 as an emergency; operative 5-29-2009 (Register 2009, No. 22). A Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 11-25-2009 or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following day.

2. Editorial correction ofHistory 1 (Register 2009, No. 47).

3. New section refiled 11-19-2009; operative 11-19-2009 (Register 2009, No. 47). A Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 2-17-2010 or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following day.

4. Certificate of Compliance as to 11-19-2009 order transmitted to OAL 2-3-2010; disapproved by OAL on 3-18-2010 and order of repeal as to 11-19-2009 order filed on 3-19-2010 (Register 2010, No. 12).

5. New section refiled 3-18-2010 as an emergency; operative 3-18-2010 (Register 2010, No. 12). A Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 6-16-2010 or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following day.

6. Certificate of Compliance as to 3-18-2010 order, including amendment of section, transmitted to OAL 4-15-2010 and filed 5-19-2010 (Register 2010, No. 21).

Note

Note: Authority cited: Sections 17053.85(e) and 23685(e), Revenue and Taxation Code; and Section 11152, Government Code. Reference: Sections 17053.85 and 23685, Revenue and Taxation Code; and Section 14998.1, Government Code.