SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California lawmakers on Thursday said the departures of high-profile Black female executives in Hollywood are a "troubling pattern," especially because the state has extended its film and television tax credits.
"It's a pattern that conveys that the early progress that we have made together with that industry to ensure diversity, equity, and inclusion above and below the lines is now coming to a grinding halt," Sen. Lola Smallwood-Cuevas, D-Los Angeles, said at a news conference held by the California Legislative Black Caucus.
Smallwood-Cuevas is among lawmakers pushing for more answers from film studios and Gov. Gavin Newsom, who on Monday signed into law a bill that extends the state's $330-million-per-year film and television tax credits for five years to fiscal year 2030-31. The tax credits would create an estimated 60,000 jobs and $10 billion of investment. The Black Caucus said that in the coming months it's planning to meet with the governor, film industry executives and labor partners to push studios to provide more data about their diversity efforts and deliver "real results."
