Los Angeles shoot days have plunged 36% below their five-year average, and the City Council has created a new committee to reverse the decline.

The council's Ad Hoc Committee on Film, Entertainment and Creative Industry held its first meeting Wednesday, Sept. 9, at City Hall, zeroing in on fire and police department permitting fees that independent producers say are driving them out of the city.

Councilmember Adrin Nazarian, the committee's chair, framed the stakes in his opening remarks.

"We live in a time where families across Los Angeles are getting financially squeezed, and at the same time, Hollywood jobs are leaving the city," Nazarian said. "We've done enough talking about that threat, and now it's time for action."

The committee, established by Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson, also includes vice chair Traci Park and member Imelda Padilla. It heard presentations from the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD), the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and the Board of Public Works on their permitting processes and fee structures.

No votes were taken.

FilmLA, the city's contracted permitting agency, logged just 4,711 shoot days in the second quarter of 2026, a 12% drop from the same period a year earlier, TheWrap reported. Los Angeles County has lost more than 40,000 entertainment jobs since 2022, according to Spectrum News California data cited by the Los Angeles Times.

One example illustrates the cost. Indie producer Dustin Harris, affiliated with the grassroots group Stay in LA, previously told TheWrap he paid more than $10,000 for a three-day shoot in Griffith Park, including more than $4,500 for a fire marshal inspection despite using no pyrotechnics and only a small generator.

Nazarian said the city is working with departments to waive inspection fees for shoots that pose no significant safety risks. He framed the committee's mission as distinct from Mayor Karen Bass's film liaison office, which handles day-to-day production troubleshooting. The committee, he told KFI, provides oversight and holds city departments accountable.

City film liaison Steve Kang, appointed by Bass in August 2025, also appeared before the committee. Kang is the only city official coordinating between FilmLA, the city and dozens of regional jurisdictions. He told the panel a new position within the Board of Public Works was frozen until January due to budget constraints, Deadline reported.

Kang also called California's $750 million annual film and TV tax credit program "oversubscribed" and urged doubling it to at least $1.5 billion.

A production-support package the council passed in March 2026, including a free micro-shoot permit for smaller productions, had not yet been implemented as of the Sept. 9 meeting. Nazarian called the pace "unacceptable."

FilmLA has launched a pilot program for a low-impact permit that would let qualifying productions enter an expedited process. Requirements include limits on cast and crew size, no use of public roads and no locations in high-risk fire areas.

Stay in LA organizer Noelle Stehman told the committee the window for action is closing. TheWrap reported that federal and state tax incentives are expected to primarily benefit major studio productions, making local permitting reform critical for independent filmmakers who shoot on location across the city.

A bipartisan federal production tax incentive with a 20% base rate on eligible spending is expected to be introduced in Congress later in September. No date has been set for the committee's next meeting.