Detroit City Wire

Senator Joseph Bellino has introduced six bills in the Michigan Senate that aim to eliminate the state’s film office and redirect funding from corporate incentives toward broader state priorities. The legislative effort is part of a larger plan to dismantle the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) and reshape economic development policies in Michigan.

“This is about putting Michigan workers and taxpayers first by finally ending the failed policies of corporate handouts and ineffective government agencies like the Michigan film office,” said Bellino, R-Monroe. “The MEDC has a long track record of waste, fraud and abuse. For more than two decades, the MEDC has given away billions of taxpayer dollars — often with little or nothing to show for it. Even their so-called successes don’t deliver on the jobs and investments promised.”

Bellino’s proposed measures—Senate Bills 637, 642, 648, 652, 661, and 669—include provisions to remove earmarked funds from the Michigan Strategic Fund within the 21st Century Jobs Fund and transfer them into the general fund. Other bills in this package would abolish the Michigan Film and Digital Media Office as well as cut references to film credits in several state statutes.

“After squandering $500 million, Michigan’s reckless film credits were supposed to have been eliminated a decade ago, but — like many government programs — the zombie film office and the careless credits just won’t die,” Bellino said.

These bills are part of a broader set of 53 legislative proposals aimed at reducing risky investments by eliminating what supporters describe as ineffective programs. Productive elements would be moved under a new bureau featuring an independent compliance officer tasked with monitoring state investments tied to economic development.

“After adding more accountability and stopping wasteful corporate giveaways, we also need to look at what is working to attract new jobs and investment in other states — lower taxes, more freedom and less government interference — and do that here in Michigan,” Bellino said.