ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Governor Susana Martinez of New Mexico signed the “Breaking Bad” incentives bill into law as part of an attempt to return the state’s film and television industry to international competitiveness.
The law is named for the Emmy Award winning series filmed at Albuquerque Studios, which has run for five years on cable’s AMC.
The law will increase the state’s rebate for series television production to 30 percent of a producer's total qualified spend in New Mexico. Feature films will also be able to get a 30 percent rebate on resident labor if they use a qualified production facility, and 25 percent on all of their other expenses. The law also provides for the roll-over of $10 million in unused funds in each fiscal year, freeing up additional funds, and also incorporates fixes to make the program more user-friendly.
“The phone started ringing right after the legislature passed the bill, even before the governor signed it,” said Wayne Rauschenberger, chief operating officer of Albuquerque Studios, where “Breaking Bad” has been filmed since the facility opened in 2007. “We’re hearing from a lot of folks that we haven’t heard from in a while, hoping to reserve the stages for summer and fall.”
CEO Dana Arnold of Albuquerque Studios thanked Martinez for “understanding the importance of the film industry to the economy of New Mexico. This industry creates jobs, and recently hundreds of skilled New Mexicans have been pursuing film work in other states while things have been so slow here, but now thanks to the governor’s actions, they can come home and take long-term jobs on several televisions series we hope to be able to announce before too long.”
