COLUMBUS, Ohio - It won’t exactly be a Hollywood script, but expect lots of action scenes in the coming weeks as lawmakers fight over whether to cut Ohio’s $40 million yearly film tax credit from the state budget.

The 10-year-old tax credit has big fans in Northeast Ohio – which has aggressively pursued productions of movies, films, television shows and commercials – including among many of the area’s lawmakers. But Republican leadership in the Ohio House last week axed the incentive in its budget proposal, freeing up cash to help pay for a proposal to cut income taxes.

Lawmakers who support the credit plan to fight for it.

“We’re not doing this so we can see Kevin Costner or Madonna -- although it’s nice and a lot of people like to go to the sets and watch how a movie is made – but it’s all about jobs," said Rep. Tom Patton, a Strongsville Republican, who was involved in the tax credit’s creation in 2009. "It’s all about our future. This is workforce development right here.”

A 2015 Cleveland State University study found that for every dollar Ohio spends on the credit, filmmakers and others involved in productions spent $2.01 in Ohio.

That money is spent at bars and restaurants, on rental cars, hotel rooms, set construction materials, office supplies, clothing, props and other expenses, said Ivan Schwartz, president and CEO of the Greater Cleveland Film Commission.

Over 5,000 full-time jobs have been created, thanks to the credit, Schwartz said. Positions range from people working in hair and makeup, as production assistants and in a movie’s art department to workers providing transportation, medical services on set and set construction -- including many union jobs.

“Without that mechanism, nothing would come and film here," Schwartz said. “Usually they choose the states with the best incentive and best workforce. Our incentive may not be the highest, but it is structured in a way that is pleasing to the industry. Because of that, we’ve been able to create a workforce that is desirable to the industry. This incentive creates shovel-ready productions. A movie comes and they’re ready to go. They’re ready to spend their money.”

The Ohio Motion Picture Tax Credit offers a 30 percent refund on production cast and crew wages, plus other eligible in-state spending.

Not everyone thinks it is worth preserving -- especially when the state faces so many other needs, from better educating students to cleaning up Lake Erie.

“The premise is if you put a tax credit for the movies in place, it will attract and build a motion film picture industry," said Wendy Patton, a senior project director at left-leaning Policy Matters Ohio. "There are a few states that dominate the motion picture industry. And then there’s all the other states. The investment you’d have to do to move the needle is astronomical.”

Patton, who is not related to Rep. Tom Patton, points out that in that same 2015 Cleveland State University study, out of $22.1 million in tax revenue generated from filming in Ohio, most of it went to the federal government. Just $6.7 million was state and local revenue.

“The return on state taxpayer money is extremely low,” she said.

The operating budget bill has many steps before it lands on Gov. Mike DeWine’s desk -- which will likely be toward the end of June.

On Wednesday, the bill could get amended again. Patton, the lawmaker, would like the tax credit restored and increased to $100 million a year.

If he can’t make that happen in the House, there is always a chance to revive it in the Senate, where the bill will go after the House passes it.

In the Senate, the bill will first be vetted by the Finance Committee, chaired by Sen. Matt Dolan, a Chagrin Falls Republican. Dolan said he was disappointed when the credit was removed in the House, but that there’s a lot of support for it among Senate Republicans.

He noted that Cleveland State University created a school of film, television and interactive media two years ago to help students obtain jobs in the industry.

“When you create unpredictability and instability by removing something that’s working, that’s a wet blanket over economic growth and investment," he said.