If there is anything we should have learned from the nationwide film industry slowdown over the past three years, it is this: Louisiana cannot and should not depend entirely on corporate Hollywood to bring us work.

After 23 years of incentivizing production in our state, we now have the experienced crews, talent, infrastructure, connections, locations, and stories to produce our own content.

The question we should be asking ourselves in 2026 is simple:

Why do we insist on renting the industry when we could own it?

Why are we not developing, green-lighting, and profiting from projects produced here in Louisiana?

The answer is access to capital.

Louisiana still has a Top 10 incentive program nationally, but access to capital—especially local capital—remains the missing piece. If we want to build a sustainable industry, the program must support Louisiana-based investment and ownership, not just attract outside production. I work directly with Louisiana taxpayers and producers trying to finance projects here, and these structural limitations are not theoretical—they are the difference between deals closing or falling apart.A number of LED’s proposed rules provide helpful guidance under Act 44.

Others, however, risk making the program harder to finance and less attractive to local investors.

Below are specific concerns and suggested improvements, listed in order of priority:

1) Irrevocable Designee – Flexibility Is Critical (§6141(A)(B))

The rules should clearly allow for multiple irrevocable designees and permit those designations to be made or updated at any point prior to the issuance of credits.

Film financing is assembled over time, not all at once. Investors and Louisiana taxpayers often come into a project at different stages. If designation is locked too early, it becomes much harder to close financing and can exclude otherwise viable Louisiana participants.

This flexibility is essential to ensure that credits can be placed with Louisiana taxpayers who are able to use them. Many of those taxpayers are not identified at the outset of a project. The ability to bring them in later is what allows deals to actually get done.

When Louisiana resident taxpayers—especially small businesses—have access to credits, and when the State of Louisiana writes fewer large checks directly to out-of-state studios and streamers, Louisiana wins.

Unnecessarily restricting this process will reduce liquidity, lower credit value and bankability, and ultimately discourage investment in Louisiana projects.

If the goal is to keep more economic benefit in Louisiana, then restricting how credits are placed with Louisiana taxpayers moves us in the opposite direction.

2) Transparency of Cap Availability (§6109(B)(2))

The annual issuance and claims caps directly affect investor confidence.

Remaining availability under both caps should be updated at least weekly and made easily accessible online.

Without clear visibility into where things stand, credits become harder to underwrite and financing becomes more difficult. Transparency is essential to making the program workable for independent producers and investors.

3) Inclusion of Louisiana Investment as a Priority (§6133(B))

The proposed rules expand LED’s discretion in approving projects and determining credit percentages, but they do not explicitly consider Louisiana-based investment.

If the goal is long-term economic development, then local capital should be part of the evaluation.

Louisiana-sourced investment and ownership should be included as factors in:

• project approval
• prioritization
• credit percentage decisions

Encouraging in-state investment is how we move from being a service economy to an ownership economy.

4) Minimum Expenditure Threshold (§6129(A))

Lowering the minimum investment from $300,000 to $150,000 is a positive step given tightening capital markets and changing production economics.

However, previous rules allowed Louisiana content creators to qualify at $50,000, which helped independent local filmmakers get started.

Consider restoring a pathway for smaller Louisiana-based projects—particularly those led by independent producers—to participate at lower thresholds. That is how a local pipeline is built.

5) Predictability in Allocation and Approval (§6133)

Expanded discretion in allocating credits creates uncertainty for investors.

If applicants cannot reasonably predict whether, when, or at what level they will receive credits, financing becomes more difficult and more expensive.

Clear guidance around timing, prioritization, and consistency in decision-making will go a long way toward maintaining investor confidence.

6) Treatment of Insurance Premiums (§6137)

Insurance is a necessary cost of production.

Standard production insurance costs purchased from Louisiana agencies should be made fully eligible expenditures. Limiting or excluding them effectively increases the cost of producing in Louisiana and reduces the value of the incentive.

Closing

Louisiana has spent more than two decades building one of the strongest production ecosystems in the country. The next phase is not just attracting more outside production—it is enabling Louisiana to own a greater share of the content created here.

That requires a program that:

• encourages local investment
• provides transparency and predictability
• reflects how projects are actually financed in the real world

If structured correctly, this program can do more than attract production—it can allow Louisiana to participate in the ownership of the content created here.

That is the difference between a temporary boost in spending and a sustainable industry.

Respectfully,

Patrick Mulhearn