California governor candidates lay out their plans to boost film and television production

HOLLYWOOD, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Three of the candidates running for California governor visited Hollywood recently to lay out their plans to boost film and television production.

Democrats Matt Mahan and Tom Steyer and Republican Steven Hilton all agree the tax credit shouldn't be capped, which is currently at $750 million per year. They also want to raise incentives.

"California built the entertainment industry," said Mahan. "We have the talent, the crews, the studios, and the legacy, but the California dream doesn't survive on nostalgia. It survives when people can afford to live here. When workers can find stable jobs. When we fight for the industries that built this state."

Hilton's plan would reportedly bring the tax credit as high as 60% for some productions. California is currently between 35% and 45%.

"We've got to wake people up and say, 'You've got to come home,' because we've got the best climate for making movies and TV anywhere in the world, and what we've got now is absolutely pathetic compared to what you see in other places," he said. "We've had people in charge who just assumed that things are going to go on the way they have forever and that we don't need to compete. That there's no choice and people are just going to stay here and make movies and TV here. That's not true. You've got incredibly aggressive competitors all around the world, and it's true Gavin Newsom increased the tax incentive last year, but it's way too little, way too late."

More than 50,000 film and television jobs have left the state in the past three years, going to other states and countries that offer better incentives and less regulations.

"They're basically trying to steal our industry by bribing the producers of those films to go there, and we have to respond to that," said Steyer. "Every single negotiation around contracts, what they're arguing about is healthcare costs because they're exploding and we all know that, and so, to a very large extent. I'm for single payer."

Hilton has been endorsed by President Donald Trump and said if he's elected, they will work together to enact a federal tax credit to keep productions in the U.S. - even though that effort hasn't been successful so far.