The General Assembly acquiesced to Media Rights Capital’s demand for millions more in tax credits to keep the production company shooting Netflix series House of Cards in Maryland (without that crazy amendment). And to help fund them, state lawmakers have agreed to divert up to $2.5 million from the Special Fund for the Preservation of Cultural Arts, intended for Maryland arts organizations.
The General Assembly justified the rerouting of funds by citing the economic impact of the House of Cards production, judged at $250 million and 6,000 jobs over the past two seasons. Del. Frank S. Turner points out that the money is still funding the arts.
But that logic didn’t satisfy advocacy group Maryland Citizens for the Arts, whose executive director John Schratweiser decried the decision. Schratweiser figured the economic impact of the Maryland non-profit arts organizations for which the money was originally intended contribute over $1 billion to the state economy annually and employ more than 12,000 Marylanders.
