Joseph Spector

Albany Bureau Chief

ALBANY - Florida has sunny skies, beautiful beaches and luxurious locations to shoot movies and TV shows. But it lacks one key attraction: lucrative tax credits.

As a result, the cameras have shut off, and the stars have moved to other states. Even HBO's Ballers, starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, which glamorizes South Beach, left for California after Florida's tax incentives dried up.

"It’s impossible to compete when we are starting with zero," said John Lux, executive director of Film Florida, a nonprofit group.

The situation in Florida has played out in states across the nation, an investigation by the USA TODAY Network found.

Some states have increased public spending to bring in shows and films, creating a competition among New York, California, Georgia, Louisiana and other states with big incentives.

But other states like Florida, Wisconsin and Michigan have done away with their programs, concluding the tax breaks weren't producing enough of a return on investment.

Either way, while you are relaxing at home watching your favorite TV show or having a date night at the movies, one state or another may be paying for what you are seeing with taxpayer-funded incentives.

The USA TODAY Network surveyed every state in the nation on its film-incentive program and created the first national database that shows how much each film and show received in tax breaks and incentives.

Thirty-four states allocate more than $1.3 billion a year in tax breaks to films and television shows, but questions remain about the use of taxpayer money to subsidize Hollywood, according to the review.

The investigation also found limited public information in some states about their programs, but found big bucks being shelled out at a time when a record number of television shows and movies are being made in the U.S. Meanwhile, box office revenue hit a record $11.4 billion last year, according to comScore.

"This is a runaway train of corporate handouts to a very, very wealthy industry," said John Kaehny, executive director of Reinvent Albany, a group critical of government subsidies.

"These are big, successful, gigantic companies that make billions of dollars and are getting a huge taxpayer handout."

The investigation’s findings include:

Twenty-nine states that provided details about their spending on specific productions gave out $6 billion in incentives for more than 5,000 projects over the past five years. The top spenders were Louisiana at $1.3 billion; New York at $1.2 billion; California at $882 million; Connecticut at $669 million; and Pennsylvania at $384 million.

New York spends the most of any state at $420 million a year, followed by $350 million in Georgia in 2016 and $330 million in California.

Some big-ticket films and shows received huge tax breaks, records show. They include $35 million for Superman v Batman: Dawn of Justice in Michigan; $32 million for Terminator Genisys in Louisiana; $22 million for FOX's Gotham series in New York; and $21 million designated for the yet-to-be-released Captain Marvel film in California.

Campaign finance records show that governors in New York and Illinois are among those who have benefited from Hollywood’s largesse for their re-election bids. In New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a potential 2020 presidential candidate, is planning his fourth trip since taking office in 2011 to be feted in Los Angeles, and he has received about $1.3 million from film interests.

The relationship between the industry and politicians has been highlighted in recent weeks amid the Harvey Weinstein scandal, forcing state leaders to scurry to give back his campaign cash and raising new questions about the industry's influence to land major publicly funded tax breaks.

"Taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars should not be used to subsidize sexual assault," said New York Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal, D-Manhattan, who introduced a bill after the Weinstein scandal to end tax breaks in New York for companies that have a history of sexual harassment.

DATABASE: See how much over 5,000 productions received in incentives

Lights, camera, incentives

A decade ago, as states lost productions to Canada and overseas, tax breaks for films and TV shows in the U.S. started to gain traction — and it led to an arms race.

Georgia now offers perhaps the most generous program in the nation, letting companies get tax breaks on salaries for actors and producers, as well as other production costs. It now has the third largest film industry behind California and New York.

The programs have also created a secondary market in Georgia and some other states, like Pennsylvania and Louisiana: The tax credits, if a studio is not based in the state, are sold on the open market through brokers to in-state companies, who then benefit from the state's program. In Georgia, the unused credits soared to $1.2 billion at the end of 2016, records showed.

Each state's program can be different: Some are straight rebates on a percentage of production costs; others are tax breaks for production companies. Some are funded through nonprofits.

"The level of flexibility the state offers is a consideration for film companies," Katie Quinn, a research analyst at the National Conference of State Legislatures.

"They will actually modify scripts to reflect the scenery of a state if a state offers particularly generous incentives."

In New York, while expenses for actors and producers' salaries aren't reimbursable — known as "above the line" costs — the state gives as much as 40 percent back to studios if they shoot in the Empire State. It's now a $19 billion a year industry in New York with 104,000 hires expected this year, and the film credits are New York's largest business incentive program.

Some states put no cap on their budget for the film industry. In Massachusetts, $26.7 million was paid out last year for the reboot of Ghostbusters, the most for any production in the state's history.

Studios say the equation is simple: The tax credits make projects economically feasible, helping their bottom lines.

"Cost is the absolute most important factor now," said Vans Stevenson, vice president of state government affairs at the Motion Picture Association of America, the industry's trade group.

"Because nobody still knows today, despite all the research, whether a movie or television series is going to find an audience. And therefore, you want to minimize your production costs to maximize your ability to make a profit, but at the same time protect yourself from losses."

That's particularly the case in recent years as more televisions shows are being produced, thanks to streaming services like Netflix, Amazon and Hulu.

Last year, a record 455 programs aired on U.S. television in 2016 — double the amount compared with 2010, according to FX Research.

The Motion Picture Association said the industry in 2015 supported 2 million jobs in the country and $134 billion in total wages.

Hunt for help

Experts said the film and television industry is unique: Unlike incentives to lure a factory, for example, productions can simply move state to state looking for the best deal.

So the battle for taxpayer money is fierce and unending.

"For California, it’s not about us competing against any one place. It's global," said California Film Commission executive director Amy Lemisch.

California, long home to the most productions, learned the hard way: The number of film productions dropped 15 percent between 2009 and 2012 as other states boosted incentives, state records showed.

How did California respond? Lawmakers increased its breaks from $100 million to $330 million each year.

Then came Georgia with its 30 percent back on almost all production costs. It is best known as home to AMC's The Walking Dead, which has made Senora, where it is filmed, a tourist attraction.

"It is a tremendous boon to the economy — from caterers, to plant growers, to dry cleaners. It is widespread what it has done for the economy at a time when we needed it," said Lee Thomas, deputy commissioner of the Georgia Film Office.

A decade ago, $93 million was spent by studios in Georgia. Last year, it hit $2 billion for 245 projects, state records showed.

Other states have since got in the race: Ohio doubled its credit to $40 million annually last year, and Illinois restored its program, spending $58 million last year. North Carolina revived, then expanded, its breaks.

"We have really tried to push Illinois as a destination for film production," said Leslie Strain, a spokeswoman for the Illinois program.

The spending varied widely, the USA TODAY Network investigation found.

In California, the average project received roughly $4 million in incentives, mostly for feature films and television series. Minnesota spent less than $70,000 per project on average, mainly on television commercials.

Curtain closes in some states

Other states have either eliminated their incentives or lowered them, saying state revenue is finite. Michigan, Wisconsin and Alaska have all dumped their efforts, and Wyoming's will expire next year.

Texas cut its program back, and Louisiana put a $180 million a year cap on its one. Similar battles have played out in others statehouses, including in Massachusetts, Mississippi and New Mexico.

Several national studies have panned the programs. In Florida, state economists contended the program spent more than it took in. The industry disputed the findings, but the report helped a group funded by the conservative Koch Brothers to press for the incentive's end.

Last year, University of Southern California professor Michael Thom concluded in a report that film-tax breaks largely do not lead to job growth.

Thom said at least a dozen studies "all generally come to the same conclusion, and that’s they don’t have a positive return on their investment."

In New York, studios were reimbursed about $42,300 for every direct job created in 2015 and 2016, state records showed.

In Arizona, lawmakers rejected attempts to offer the breaks, but last year the Arizona Commerce Authority revived a film office — with a roughly $636,000 budget funded in part by billionaire GoDaddy Inc. founder Bob Parsons, who owns a studio in the state.

The effort has drawn criticism. The Arizona Free Enterprise Group, a conservative group, charged the office flouts the will of lawmakers.

In Texas, the program was cut from $32 million to $22 million over two years.

Rep. Matt Shaheen, R-Plano, said he puts the subsidies in the context of a young, single mom trying to pay her bills.

"Should I take money from her and give it to some wealthy Hollywood actor or wealthy Hollywood producer? That’s my world view, and I think it’s totally inappropriate," Shaheen said.

Questions continue

The programs have created their share of scandals, too.

Iowa had a film production tax credit in 2007, but it was quickly scrapped after it became clear it was being widely exploited and criminal charges were brought.

In Texas, a legal battle broke out after a $2 million incentive for the 2010 Robert Rodriguez film, Machete, was revoked after the state concluded the film portrayed Texas “in a negative light.” The plot included a fictional corrupt state senator.

Michigan's program ended after a seven-year stint, despite producing some blockbusters, including one of the Transformers movies and Batman v. Superman.

Republicans said the incentives didn’t deliver a permanent workforce; state-subsided studios have long since closed.

The decisions made by states can directly affect productions.

HBO said the loss of the tax break in Florida led Ballers to move.

“When the incentive was no longer available, we evaluated the best way to serve the series going forward and the final determination was to relocate the production," Bruce Richmond, the company's executive vice president for production, said in a statement.

"Tax incentives are of course not the only consideration when exploring locations, but they are always a part of the discussion.”

Public information

Five states with film programs — Georgia, Hawaii, Maine, New Mexico and West Virginia — refused the USA TODAY Network's requests to provide documents showing how much each film and show received in tax breaks over the past five years.

Some claimed that since the money was tax credits, it was private in order to protect the taxpayers.

"Our program is based on tax credits, not actual public tax dollars granted," Emily Amos, spokeswoman for the West Virginia Tourism Office, said. "As such, the amount of the credit is specifically protected under W. Va. Code § 11-10-5d(b)(5)(A) which forbids the disclosure of personal and business tax information."

Despite its large program, Georgia offered a similar reason for rejecting the USA TODAY Network's Freedom of Information request, claiming it could not release records "containing tax matters or tax information that is confidential under state or federal law."

New York used to make similar claims, saying the information was proprietary. Then the state Legislature changed the law, requiring quarterly reports on how much each one got.

Without the information being public, it is hard to gauge the program's effectiveness, critics said.

"Despite the significance of the program, Georgia lacks a process for evaluating the film tax credit and other incentives," the Pew Charitable Trusts said in a report in May.

Political influence

The industry spends heavily on campaign contributions and lobbying to make its presence felt in state capitals.

In New York, Gov. Cuomo has received $860,000 from contributors in the Los Angeles area involved in the industry, including $60,000 from studio executive Jeffrey Katzenberg and $60,000 from Steven Spielberg and his wife, Kate Capshaw.

From in-state studios, Cuomo also received nearly $400,000 — including $125,8000 from the owners of Steiner Studios in Brooklyn and $110,800 from NBC Universal.

He recently returned $111,000 in Weinstein contributions. The Weinstein Co. received $5 million for two productions in New York, mainly for the movie St. Vincent; in Pennsylvania, $8.4 million was slated for the Weinstein movie Untouchable, records show.

Politicians from around the country donated their Weinstein campaign cash, and at least one other governor did: Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe said he would donate his $57,000 to a group that works to stop sexual assaults.

In Illinois, governors have received about $400,000 from contributors tied to the industry since 2002, records show.

Cuomo has denied any quid pro quo, saying the industry is an important one for the state, particularly New York City.

"New York state's film production tax credit program is a national leader, generating thousands of jobs and billions in spending across the state," said Jason Conwall, a spokesman for Empire State Development, which oversees New York's program.

Conwall said each production is thoroughly reviewed, including undergoing an audit, before it receives any tax credits.

"No outside factors influence this process — political or otherwise," he said.

In mid-November, Cuomo will be again heading out to California to raise money — including at the home of Universal Pictures chairman Jeff Shell, according to the Wall Street Journal.

In 2015, emails released by WikiLeaks showed efforts by Cuomo's campaign to raise money from Sony executives.

The Motion Picture Association for America makes no secret about its political activities.

As the state Legislature in New York considered a three-year renewal of the program earlier this year, the group spent more than $150,000 on lobbying in Albany and dropped another $58,000 on ads, records show.

The measure easily passed.

"Obviously, it’s clear: Everybody supports people that support them, generally, in politics," said Stevenson, the group's vice president.

"But there’s no correlation between directly contributing to somebody and a tax incentive."

DATABASE: See how much over 5,000 productions received in incentives

JSpector@Gannett.com

Joseph Spector is chief of USA TODAY Network's Albany Bureau.

Includes reporting by Sean Lahman, a staff writer at the Democrat and Chronicle; Dustin Gardiner, state politics reporter at the Arizona Republic; Kathleen Gray, a reporter at the Detroit Free Press; John Moritz, a reporter at the USA TODAY Network's Austin Bureau; and Brianne Pfannenstiel, a reporter at the Des Moines Register.