LANSING – There is just less than $1 million of the $25 million from the current fiscal year left to be distributed out of the Michigan film incentive, but the $25 million that came available Saturday will stay in the coffers until the Legislature sets new rules for using the money.

Film Office Director Carrie Jones announced Friday that the office would not take any additional applications for incentives until the Legislature decides whether to act on SB 569 , which would alter how the film office awards incentives.

“Recognizing there are many projects currently planning to submit applications on October 1, we feel this is the best course of action for several reasons – the primary of which are ensuring certainty and consistency within the Michigan film incentive program,” Ms. Jones said in the statement. “With everything in SB 569 subject to change at this stage in the process, we simply do not yet have answers to many of the most basic questions projects have when applying for the film incentives. We also want to ensure all projects approved under the new funding are approved using the same set of criteria regardless of when in the fiscal year they apply.”

Michele Begnoche, spokesperson for the office, said technically applications could come in under the current tax credit program until December 31, but she said Jones wanted applicants to know when they filed how much they might receive and what they would have to do to qualify.

Amber McCann, spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville (R-Monroe), said the bill would be moving, but there was not yet a timetable to do so.

“It’s something the Senate majority leader has a great interest in,” McCann said. “I believe we’ll be looking at it soon.”

But she said it would only be speculation to discuss specific elements of the bill until the Senate Economic Development Committee has completed its work.

Begnoche said there is still just less than $1 million of the $25 million from the current fiscal year left to be distributed.

“We still have projects in the pipeline,” she said.

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