North Carolina SB 1002: Kings Mtn. P.O. Renovation Funds.

Bill Text

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
S 1
SENATE BILL 1002

Short Title: Micro-Budget Productions & Film Grant Changes. (Public)
Sponsors: Senator Lee (Primary Sponsor).
Referred to: Rules and Operations of the Senate
May 4, 2026
*S1002-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO MODIFY THE FILM AND ENTERTAINMENT GRANT FUND. 2
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 3
SECTION 1. G.S. 143B-437.02A reads as rewritten: 4
"§ 143B-437.02A. The Film and Entertainment Grant Fund. 5
(a) Creation and Purpose of Fund. – There is created in the Department of Commerce a 6
special, nonreverting account to be known as the Film and Entertainment Grant Fund to provide 7
funds to encourage the production of motion pictures, television shows, movies for television, 8
productions intended for on-line distribution, and commercials and to develop the filmmaking 9
industry within the State. The Department of Commerce shall adopt guidelines providing for the 10
administration of the program. Those guidelines may provide for the Secretary to award the grant 11
proceeds over a period of time, not to exceed three years. Those guidelines shall include the 12
following provisions, which shall apply to each grant from the account: 13
(1) The funds are reserved for a production on which the production company has 14
qualifying expenses of at least the following: 15
... 16
b. For a production consisting of a series of episodes intended for on-line 17
distribution or a television series, five hundred thousand dollars 18
($500,000) per episode. 19
... 20
(2) The funds are not used to provide a grant in excess of any of the following: 21
a. An amount more than twenty-five percent (25%) of the qualifying 22
expenses for the production. 23
b. An amount more than seven million dollars ($7,000,000) twenty 24
million dollars ($20,000,000) for a feature-length film, film or a single 25
season of a production consisting of a series of episodes intended for 26
on-line distribution, more than fifteen million dollars ($15,000,000) 27
twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000) for a single season of a 28
television series, or two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) for 29
a commercial for theatrical or television viewing or on-line 30
distribution. The amount of a grant for the first season of a series, when 31
added to any grant awarded for the pilot episode of that series, may not 32
exceed twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000). 33
(3) The funds are not used to provide a grant to more than one production 34
company for a single production. 35

General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 Senate Bill 1002-First Edition
(4) The funds are not used to provide a grant for a production that meets one or 1
more of the following: 2
... 3
f. It is a talk, game, talk show, recorded concert or other live performance 4
event for theatrical or other release, or awards show or other gala 5
event. For purposes of this exception, an awards show is television 6
programming involving the filming of a ceremony in which 7
individuals, groups, or organizations are given an award. 8
... 9
(b) Definitions. – The following definitions apply in this section: 10
... 11
(3) Highly compensated individual. – An individual who directly or indirectly 12
receives compensation in excess of one million dollars ($1,000,000) four 13
million dollars ($4,000,000) for personal services with respect to a single 14
production. An individual receives compensation indirectly when a 15
production company pays a personal service company or an employee leasing 16
company that pays the individual. 17
... 18
(5) Production. – Any of the following: 19
a. A motion picture intended for commercial distribution to a motion 20
picture theater or directly to the consumer viewing market that has a 21
running time of at least 75 minutes. 22
b. A television series or a commercial for theatrical or television viewing, 23
made-for-television movie, or production intended for on-line 24
distribution. For video and a television series, a production is all of the 25
episodes of the series produced for a single season. For a production 26
intended for on-line distribution, the production is all the episodes 27
produced for a single calendar year, provided there are at least six 28
episodes with an average running time of at least 20 minutes. 29
(6) Production company. – Defined in G.S. 105-164.3.A person engaged in the 30
business of making original motion pictures or video content for theatrical, 31
commercial, advertising, or educational purposes. 32
(7) Qualifying expenses. – The sum of the amounts listed in this subdivision, 33
substantiated pursuant to subsection (d) of this section, and spent in this State 34
by a production company in connection with a production, less the amount 35
paid in excess of one million dollars ($1,000,000) four million dollars 36
($4,000,000) to a highly compensated individual: 37
a. Goods and services leased or purchased. For goods with a purchase