The bill amends the Entertainment Industry Incentive Act of 2009 by renaming the Alabama Film Office to the Alabama Entertainment Office and expanding the definition of "qualified productions" to include "music albums." Key provisions include the establishment of minimum expenditure requirements for music albums, set at thirty thousand dollars ($30,000), and a cap of two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000) on eligible expenditures for these productions. The bill also increases the overall annual cap on incentives, replacing previous aggregate caps for fiscal years 2009 through 2014 with a new cap of twenty million dollars ($20,000,000) for fiscal years ending September 30, 2015, through September 30, 2025, and twenty-two million dollars ($22,000,000) for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2026, and thereafter.

Additionally, the bill reserves two million dollars ($2,000,000) of the total cap specifically for music albums starting in the fiscal year ending September 30, 2026, with provisions for reallocating unallocated funds to other qualified production companies if necessary. It allows for the carryover of unspent incentives to the following fiscal year, capped at three million dollars ($3,000,000). The Department of Commerce is tasked with contracting an out-of-state entity to evaluate the program and report findings to the Legislature by the first legislative day of the 2027 Regular Legislative Session. The act is set to take effect on October 1, 2025.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 41-7A-1, 41-7A-42, 41-7A-43, 41-7A-48
Engrossed: 41-7A-1, 41-7A-42, 41-7A-43, 41-7A-48
Enrolled: 41-7A-1, 41-7A-42, 41-7A-43, 41-7A-48