One week ago, a pair of withering state audits declared that the economic impact of Georgia's system of tax credits for film and TV production had been greatly exaggerated – specifically, the number of jobs created.
Auditors estimated the film tax credit's net economic impact at less than $3 billion and fewer than 10,000 jobs in 2016, the latest year they studied.
Only last year, journalists were routinely told that the film and TV industry had an economic impact of $9.5 billion in 2018 and generated 92,000 jobs. The audits have attracted the attention of state lawmakers looking for ways to avoid budget cuts ordered by Gov. Brian Kemp.
The tax credits cost the state an estimated $870 million in 2019.
But wait. On Wednesday, yet another study surfaced, conducted by Georgia Tech and commissioned by the state Department of Economic Development. The Tech study – which examines fiscal year 2017 --concludes that the film/TV tax credits produce more economic activity than the audits contend.
But there’s also a backhanded admission that talk of 92,000 jobs was highly exaggerated. A key paragraph:
The economic impact for the defined film industry in Georgia was $8.6 billion in FY2017. In the same year, there were over 17,800 employed in film, which represents a 376 percent increase since 2001. Of those workers, 96 percent are employed in production while the remaining 4 percent is spread across film distribution, teleproduction/post-production services, and other services including booking or casting agencies. The presence of the film industry in Georgia supports over 33,000 additional jobs in other industries. Altogether, film production supports nearly 51,000 jobs and $2.6 billion in personal income for the State of Georgia.
The cost of the tax credit program was measured at $800 million in 2017.
The Tech study notes, in bold letters, that "the calculated impact does not consider the incurred cost of Georgia's well-known Film, Television, and Digital Entertainment Tax Credit in FY2017." Read the entire report here, or stroll through it below:
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R.E.M. bassist Mike Mills doesn't like Donald Trump. And he really doesn't like when the president plays his band's songs at his rallies.
Informed that Trump played “Everybody Hurts” and “Losing My Religion” at recent events, the Macon native started researching ways to get the president to back off.
"We are aware that the President* @realDonaldTrump continues to use our music at his rallies," he said Wednesday via Twitter. "We are exploring all legal avenues to prevent this, but if that's not possible please know that we do not condone the use of our music by this fraud and con man."
Mills might want to ask Mick Jagger for advice. The Rolling Stones’ frontman also tried to prevent Trump from playing its songs at rallies. “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” has long been a Trump staple.
"The thing is, when you appear in America...if you're in a public place like Madison Square Garden or a theater, you can play any music you want, and you can't be stopped," Jagger said in a video Q&A during the 2016 presidential campaign. "So, if you write a song and someone plays it in a restaurant that you go to, you can't stop them. They can play what they want."
There's plenty of history between Mills and Trump. Back in 2015, Mills called Trump an "orange clown" for using R.E.M.'s music at rallies — and later released an anti-Trump song called "World Leader Pretend."
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We told you earlier this week about House Bill 736, authored by state Rep. Dave Belton, R-Buckhead, which would offer student loan forgiveness to teachers who work in Georgia's worst-performing schools.
This morning, we received a note from the Georgia Federation of Teachers, which wants language in the bill changed – or the measure killed. The group’s reasoning:
[The GTF] appreciates the spirit of the bill. However, we believe that this bill, as written, will continue to bolster the charter school industry. Although the AFT was a major proponent of the concept of charter schools, Georgia style charters are mutations of what those professional educators and teacher leaders had in mind.
Language that allows teachers assigned to turnaround schools to receive loan forgiveness should be changed to teachers assigned to Title 1 schools. In a capitalist society, unfortunately, the economically disadvantaged will always exist. But schools should be the great equalizer. In the United States, public schools have helped to create the middle class. The correlation between poverty and student success is glaring.
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A bill to legalize and tax wagering on sporting events in Kentucky passed through a state House committee Wednesday, "with good odds that it will soon clear the full chamber," the Louisville Courier-Journal reports. The bill would also legalize online poker and fantasy sports contests.
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The first black woman to serve on the Georgia Board of Dentistry was sworn in this week.
Debra Wilson was the lead dentist at Grady Memorial Hospital from 2009-2016 and served as the Director of Dental Services for the Department of Juvenile Justice and as a dental officer in the U.S. Air Force.
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Our AJC colleague David Wickert reports that Gov. Brian Kemp on Wednesday nominated a federal official to be the planning director at the state Department of Transportation. Jannine Miller is senior adviser to U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and former adviser to Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue.
If approved by the state Senate and House transportation committees, she would become Kemp’s point person at GDOT, which is otherwise independent. Miller would replace Jay Roberts, who left the post last September to join a lobbying firm.
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A group of clergy and community leaders will hold a press conference at Central Presbyterian Church (across from the state Capitol) at 1 p.m. today, to underscore their opposition to "religious liberty" legislation that they and other critics say would discriminate against the state's LGBT community.
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Bobby Kaple, theformer newscaster turned politician, is returning to the airwaves. The former Sixth District candidate will appear on WAGA-TV's "Georgia Gang" this weekend.
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Over at Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball, Emory University political scientist Alan Abramowitz has a piece that questions the impact of good economic numbers on the 2020 presidential contest:
Claims that President Trump should be viewed as a clear favorite to win a second term in the White House based on the normal advantage of incumbency and a growing economy in 2020 may be overstating his advantages. The advantage of incumbency in all U.S. elections has been diminishing due to growing partisan polarization and the modest expected growth rate of the economy may not be enough to overcome Trump's persistently low job ratings.
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Newly minted U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler now has a federal political action committee she can use to help back other candidates for office.
Paperwork to create the Growing Georgia PAC was filed Wednesday. The group cannot be used to directly fund Loeffler's special election campaign, but it can make donations on her behalf to other candidates whose support she is seeking.
Starting leadership PACs like this one have become customary for elected federal officials, allowing them to donate to other campaigns plus use the funds for certain travel expenses. Many other politicians from both parties have set up similar committees.
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Speaking of that special election, the AJC's Mark Niesse reports on the expected timeline that Kelly Loeffler and other U.S. Senate candidates will need to follow.
U.S. Secretary Brad Raffensperger has proposed legislation to set qualifying in March for the November special election to determine who else will be running against Loeffler in hopes of taking over retired U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson's seat.
The legislation, House Bill 757, would give the secretary of state authority to set the candidate qualifying period for the November election. Raffensperger's spokesman said he wants to hold candidate qualifying during the first week in March, the same time that candidates in other races will file their intention to run.
The measure would change a Georgia law that says candidate qualifying for special elections in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate end "no later than 60 days prior to the special election," which would put the deadline in early September.
Raffensperger’s goal is to prevent a candidate who loses a primary election in May for Georgia’s other Senate set from later entering the race against Loeffler.
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U.S. Rep. Doug Collins says he has been helping White House attorneys prepare their case as the President Donald Trump's impeachment heads toward a trial in the Senate. And he is open to an even bigger role as an official member of the defense team, although he hasn't been asked yet.
In a background briefing with members of the press on Wednesday, a senior White House official said Trump’s lawyers are not ready to announce if any House Republicans will serve on the team. Asked when that decision might be made, the official gave no definitive timeline.
Whether he gets tapped for a role during the Senate trial or not, Collins will still likely be visible during the next few weeks defending Trump on FOX News. On Wednesday, he made at least two appearances on the conservative network, continuing his critique of the House investigation of Trump.
