Hello production friends, Two years ago, as you may remember, the Texas Legislature cut critical funding to the rebate program that brings production jobs to our great state, The Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program. The program had been successful and received wide support in the past, so I was shocked when they slashed the funding by two-thirds. I started this petition hoping to get 1000 signatures to raise some awareness. To my surprise, our industry rallied, and over 9400 of you signed the petition in support of the program. The petition garnered a lot of attention in Austin at the time, but unfortunately, it was too little too late, and there was nothing more we could do. The limited amount of funding resulted in some companies moving their productions out of state. The good news is we have an opportunity to change that for the next two years! The legislature is meeting right now to determine how much of the state budget to allocate to the TMIIIP for the 2018-2019 budget. A small group of legislators would like to cut this program altogether and shut down the Texas Film Commission. While it seems unlikely, anything could happen if we don’t act now. To ensure the program gets funded for the next two years, we need to make sure the legislature knows how important this program is to you and your family. Step 1: Call and write your State Senator and House Representative today. Ask them to "Support the funding of the Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program." And tell them why it’s important to you and your family. Find your Rep here: http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us Example letters: https://goo.gl/xsjJ1f Step 2: Tell your friends to do the same thing. Post your support to Facebook. If you’re on set today, spread the word. Step 3: Join the TXMPA. They are our industry advocates, and they are working hard every day to grow the industry in Texas. http://www.txmpa.org