Schultz’s post-production tax credit lands same day as Trump’s fed push
Assemblymember Nick Schultz (D-Burbank, Glendale, North Hollywood, Sherman Oaks, Studio City, Sunland-Tujunga), announced yesterday that the California Legislature passed his bill creating the state’s first standalone post-production tax credit, hours before President Trump called for a companion federal incentive following a meeting with actor Jon Voight.
AB 2319 establishes the California Post-Production Tax Credit program, letting film and television post-production work such as editorial, sound, scoring and visual effects qualify for a tax credit regardless of where a project’s principal photography took place.
“California pioneered the work of taking dreams to the big screen, and it’s the collective work of the most experienced and talented workforce in the world that has kept the industry going and pushing the limits of imagination for over a century. With AB 2319, we’re setting the stage to retain and grow our post-production workforce and creative economy across the state,” said Schultz.
According to data from CVL Economics, a creative-economy research firm cited in Schultz’s release, California’s post-production sector employs more than 12,000 workers across over 1,800 firms, but the state lost roughly 1,874 direct post-production jobs between 2005 and 2025.
Schultz’s measure now heads to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk for signing.
Feldstein Soto secures $7.66M from Penske in statewide enforcement action
Los Angeles City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto announced yesterday that Penske Truck Leasing Co. has agreed to pay $7.66 million to resolve a statewide civil enforcement action alleging the company violated California environmental and hazardous materials laws at facilities across the state.
Feldstein Soto’s office joined 21 district attorneys’ offices statewide in the action against Penske, which operates truck leasing and fleet maintenance facilities throughout California.
The company allegedly violated laws governing underground storage tanks, aboveground petroleum storage, hazardous waste and hazardous materials reporting, including failures to properly monitor and maintain underground tanks and handle hazardous waste.
“California’s environmental protection laws are designed to protect our communities, our workers, our first responders and our environment. Companies that handle hazardous materials and hazardous waste have a responsibility to comply with these critical safeguards, and we will continue working with our partners throughout California to hold businesses accountable when they fail to do so,” said Feldstein Soto.
Under the settlement, Penske will pay $6,573,750 in civil penalties, $488,250 in investigative costs and $598,000 toward supplemental environmental projects. The company must also hire an environmental compliance manager and remove or replace aging underground storage tank systems at 12 California locations with upgraded, better-monitored equipment.
Barger, Horvath expand footprint of fire-fraud task force
Los Angeles County Supervisors Kathryn Barger (R-Palmdale, Lancaster, Santa Clarita, San Marino, Pasadena, La Cañada Flintridge, portions of San Gabriel Valley) and Lindsey P. Horvath (D-Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, Calabasas, Malibu, Pacoima, Panorama City) are asking the Board of Supervisors today to widen a planned crackdown on contractor fraud so it protects Palisades fire survivors as well as those from the Eaton fire.
The motion, originally introduced by Barger alone to cover Eaton fire survivors, was revised this week to add Horvath as a co-sponsor and expand its scope to cover both major January 2025 fire zones.
If approved, it would direct the county’s Department of Consumer and Business Affairs (DCBA) to work with the District Attorney, County Counsel and the Contractors State License Board to stand up a task force within 30 days specifically to identify and stop scams targeting fire survivors.
Within 45 days, DCBA would also launch an expanded public awareness campaign explaining how residents can verify a contractor’s license, understand home improvement contracts, spot common scam warning signs, and report suspected fraud, with special outreach aimed at seniors, non-English speakers, displaced residents and other groups considered especially vulnerable to being scammed.
That information would be centralized on the county’s Recovery LA website and folded into both the Altadena and Calabasas One-Stop Permitting Centers, giving fire survivors in both burn areas a single place to get help navigating rebuilding while avoiding predatory contractors.
Hahn, Barger seek to change how two cities split fire wellness dollars
Los Angeles County Supervisors Janice Hahn (D-Long Beach, San Pedro, Diamond Bar, Whittier, Cerritos, Downey, Torrance, Redondo Beach, Hacienda Heights) and Kathryn Barger are asking the Board of Supervisors today to change the formula the county uses to divide a slice of Measure ER public health funding between Pasadena and Long Beach, two cities that run their own local health departments separate from the county’s.
Voters approved Measure ER on June 2, raising the countywide sales tax by half a cent, from 9.75% to 10.25%, to help offset federal health care funding cuts and support local health services.
Under the current formula, adopted in February, Pasadena and Long Beach split 1% of Measure ER funds based on how much each city has historically spent on core public health services over the past five years.
Hahn and Barger’s motion would replace that with a simpler per-capita formula, splitting the money based on each city’s population and reviewed and updated annually. Because Long Beach’s population is roughly three times Pasadena’s, switching to a strict per-capita formula would likely shift more Measure ER funding toward Long Beach and away from Pasadena than the current spending-based approach.
The motion also asks the board to suspend its usual competitive-bidding rules so the county can quickly amend its funding agreements with both cities’ health departments to reflect the change.
