As actor Jeremy Renner pushes for Northern Nevada to be included in a bill proposing a massive expansion of the state’s film tax credit program, a potential new amendment has emerged to do just that.

The proposed amendment from Renner’s camp floated to lobbyists and obtained by The Nevada Independent Monday suggests the creation of a “Zone 3 to be located outside of Clark County,” a location that would be identified by the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED). Under that amendment, an undefined amount of additional film infrastructure transferable tax credits would be made available, though the “amount of said tax credits shall be determined and approved by the legislature during a future regular or special session.” 

The bill, SB496, proposes to gradually expand Nevada’s existing film tax program from $10 million in annual film tax credits to $190 million a year over more than two decades. The vast majority of those credits, $175 million, would be directed to two proposed production campuses in Las Vegas. 

Renner made an appearance in the Legislature on Monday, meeting with Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager (D-Las Vegas) and Senate Assistant Majority Leader Roberta Lange (D-Las Vegas), who sponsored the bill. Later, he was also a guest on the Senate and Assembly floors (though he made no remarks).

It all comes as bill supporters have floated the expansion of the deal to include film giants outside Sony, including the potential to seize on a feud between Disney and Florida state government and lure the company, in some capacity, to Nevada.

But Lange told The Associated Press on Monday that a potential amendment could likely only provide for a study looking into the economic effects of including Northern Nevada in the bill.

“It took two years to get that bill to where it is today. And so to bring in something else, a whole new idea at this point, it’s probably not going to work,” Lange said. “But I think we need to look at it.”

However, Lange said during the bill’s first hearing that changes were being made to the bill just weeks before it’s introduction.“A couple of weeks ago, the Howard Hughes Corporation, Sony came to me and they said, ‘We want to be part of your bill, how can we be part of your bill?’,” Lange said. “We were able to negotiate and to come to an agreement.”

Editor’s Note: This story appears in Behind the Bar, The Nevada Independent’s newsletter dedicated to comprehensive coverage of the 2023 legislative session. Sign up for the newsletter here.