NV GOP Flips, Backs Hollywood Tax Credits Ahead of Special Legislative Session

The Nevada GOP has flipped its prior position against Democratic legislation that would provide up to $95 million in tax credits to Hollywood studios and independent film makers who expand production into Las Vegas. Last February Warner Bros., Sony Pictures Entertainment and Howard Hughes Holdings collectively proposed developing “Summerlin Studios,” a 31-acre film production studio in Las Vegas.

The legislation narrowly passed the state Assembly with bipartisan support, but failed to move to the state Senate before the close of the 2025 legislative session.

“At some point over the next few months, I intend to call the Legislature back for a special session. The goal will be to finish what the Legislature left unfinished – plain and simple,” Lombardo said in a statement released last month.

On Monday, the Nevada GOP released a statement in support of the tax extension and Hollywood expansion, entitled, “Correcting the Record on the Nevada Studio Infrastructure and Workforce Training Act: Building the future of Nevada for Nevadans.”

In a press release, Nevada GOP Chairman Michael McDonald states, 

Following Governor Joe Lombardo’s (R-NV) announcement of an upcoming special session of the Nevada legislature to “finish what the Legislature left unfinished,” more than 20 labor unions formed a political action committee (PAC) to support failed legislation that would have provided tax credits to Hollywood studios.

Although the agenda of the special session has yet to be released, the creation of the “Nevada Jobs Now” PAC by several trade unions signals that Assembly Bill 238 and/or Senate Bill 220 may be on the special session’s docket. Both pieces of legislation were sponsored by Las Vegas Democrats.

AB 238 would have provided $95 million in tax credits over 15 years to studios and independent film makers who filmed at least 50 percent of shoots in Nevada with production completed within 18 months. The legislation narrowly passed the Assembly and died in the Senate.

SB 220 also provided tax credits, the establishment of an account for Nevada Film, Media and Related Technology Education and Vocational Training, and a board to approve distributions.

“The Las Vegas Metropolitan Area is the largest metropolitan area in this State and has a need to improve the  education and training of the workforce in the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area and to diversify the economy of the Area, as indicated by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Area. The Harry Reid Research and Technology Park has been identified as a location in the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area for a project that can address the needs of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area,” the legislation reads.

“This special session gives Nevada a second chance to create over 19,000 construction jobs today and more than 17,000 permanent jobs tomorrow,” said Tommy White, Business Manager and Secretary-Treasurer, Laborers International Union of North America Local 872. “Our unions are united because Summerlin Studios isn’t only a construction project—it’s an economic engine that will deliver over $3 billion in annual impact and sustain thousands of working families for decades.”

“The results of this past summer locally in Southern Nevada have run strong, as I think a lot of us have hoped. And I think there are some storm clouds that remain out on the horizon and I think the immediate impact that the federal government had as it relates to tariffs and the change in international tourism has been real,” Howard Hughes Corporation CEO David O’Reilly told 8 News Now. “I think that as we look at potential softening in the economy, especially around consumer spending, having another leg to the stool of the economic engine of the State of Nevada is more critical than ever.”

“A study done by the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development in May downgraded the estimated impact of a movie studio bill in the Nevada Legislature… The study on AB 238 downgraded the return on investment slightly from the studio’s estimate, finding that Nevada would only get back 52 cents of every dollar in tax credits. The return on investment calculation includes a net film tax credit of $1.425 billion over 15 years,” Channel 8 News Now reports.

A critic of the legislation, Republican state Senator Dr. Robin Titus (SD-17), recently told Nevada Newsmakers, “I’m more convinced even now that they (transferable tax credits) are not good for Nevada. I’ve done a lot of homework and tried to keep an open mind.”

“The governor really wants this to be a jobs bill,” she added. “And I certainly understand. We’ve lost 2,000-plus construction jobs in this last year or whatever time period it is. And so he wants this to be a jobs bill. But I want it to be a sustainable jobs bill, and there’s a difference there.

“I’m not against supporting and making Nevada a good economic state to have businesses want to move here. I certainly am for that,” Titus continued. “But there’s ways to do that,” she added. “We have something called an infrastructure bank that people can borrow money on. We could certainly give grants and loans and hold these folks accountable when they come. But just giving transferable tax credits to somebody, I mean, we only have to look at the Apex project in Southern Nevada to know what a disaster some of the stuff could be.”

When asked for comment today in light of the Nevada GOP’s support, Senator Titus told The Globe, “Regardless of where any individual or group within the Republican Party stands towards the Film Tax, we are united in our support of Governor Lombardo’s reelection.”

The special legislative session has yet to be called and an agenda has yet to be published. The Globe will continue to follow and provide updates and related coverage.