Mayor proposes incentives for producers

LOS ANGELES, March 18 (UPI) -- Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn has announced a plan intended to keep movie and TV production in Hollywood, The Los Angeles Times reported Friday.

Hahn proposed to pay producers 5 percent of their production costs if they shoot in Los Angeles -- capped at $625,000.

Some Los Angeles City Council members said the proposal came as a surprise to them -- especially at a time when the city faces budget problems even as it looks for funds to hire more police officers.

"This is half-baked," said Councilman Martin Ludlow. "This is late. This is in the 11th hour."

Ludlow, who chairs the council's entertainment committee, supports Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa in the upcoming mayoral election. He told the Times entertainment industry officials have been urging Hahn for years to offer incentives to producers.

Villaraigosa's campaign called Hahn's announcement "election year spin." But Steve Caplan, senior vice president of the Association of Independent Commercial Producers, was warm to the idea.

"We welcome any ideas to attract and retain productions in Los Angeles," Caplan said.

The entertainment industry employs more than 200,000 people and accounts for an estimated $30 billion a year in the Los Angeles economy.