(1)(a) The Nebraska Film Office Fund is created. The fund shall be administered by the Department of Economic Development and used for grants for Nebraska-based films, Nebraska filmmakers, and tribal communities in Nebraska as provided in this section.

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(b) The fund shall consist of funds transferred by the Legislature, gifts, grants, and bequests.

(c) Any money in the Nebraska Film Office Fund available for investment shall be invested by the state investment officer pursuant to the Nebraska Capital Expansion Act and the Nebraska State Funds Investment Act.

(2)(a) The department shall administer a grant program for Nebraska-based films and shall require applications to be submitted to the department prior to beginning production.

(b) To be eligible for a grant under the program, the applicant shall verify that:

(i) The film is to be produced in Nebraska;

(ii) The film tells a Nebraska story; and

(iii) At least fifty percent of the workforce for film production will be composed of Nebraska residents for the duration of the production except as otherwise provided in subdivision (c) of this subsection.

(c) The department may lower the fifty-percent requirement in subdivision (b)(iii) of this subsection but shall not waive the requirement. The applicant shall apply to the department to lower the requirement and provide a certification that the requirement is an unreasonable impediment to production of the film. The department shall notify the applicant of the decision under this subdivision.

(d) The department shall review each application to determine whether the film qualifies for a grant under this subsection and shall not award a grant that exceeds twenty-five percent of the projected production cost of the film.

(3)(a) The department shall administer a grant program for Nebraska filmmakers with the intention to create Nebraska film industry jobs and shall require applications to be submitted to the department prior to beginning production.

(b) To be eligible for a grant under the program, the applicant shall verify that:

(i) One hundred percent of the principal photography of the film will be in Nebraska;

(ii) The applicant is a resident that has a validated credit as a producer, director, director of photography, or screenwriter for the film;

(iii) The film will be a full-length film or documentary or a short-length film or documentary;

(iv) The film will not contain any obscene or sexually explicit material;

(v) All employees who will work on the film are residents; and

(vi) The total budget of the film is at least:

(A) For full-length films or documentaries, fifty thousand dollars; or

(B) For short-length films or documentaries, five thousand dollars;

(c) The department shall review each application to determine whether the film qualifies for a grant under this subsection.

(d) The department shall review applications for grants under this subsection in the order in which the applications are received.

(e) The department shall award grants under this subsection for a total of four full-length films or documentaries and ten short-length films or documentaries each calendar year.

(f) The department shall not award a grant that exceeds two hundred fifty thousand dollars for a full-length film or documentary or twenty-five thousand dollars for a short-length film or documentary.

(g) The department shall not award total grants exceeding one million three hundred twenty-five thousand dollars in any calendar year.

(h) The first grant awarded for each individual film shall not exceed:

(i) For full-length films or documentaries, fifty thousand dollars; or

(ii) For short-length films or documentaries, ten thousand dollars.

(i) If an applicant who receives a grant under this subsection does not meet the requirements for eligibility under subdivision (b) of this subsection during the entirety of the production of the film, the applicant shall repay the entirety of the grant.

(j) For purposes of this subsection:

(i) Full-length means a production at least sixty minutes in length;

(ii) Short-length means a production at least thirty minutes and less than sixty minutes in length; and

(iii) Resident means any individual domiciled in the State of Nebraska and any other individual who maintains a permanent place of residence within the state even though temporarily absent from the state and who has not established a residence elsewhere.

(4)(a) The department shall administer a grant program for film and entertainment education programs in tribal communities in Nebraska.

(b) The department shall award total grants of at least seventy-five thousand dollars each calendar year.