NEWPORT – House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi, D-Warwick, and Senate President Dominick J. Ruggerio, D-North Providence, were recently named the 2023 Preservation Champions of the Year by the Preservation Society of Newport County.
Shekarchi and Ruggerio, according to the R.I. General Assembly, were honored for their efforts and leadership in passing the state’s film tax incentive. The film tax legislation, which offers production companies an incentive to make movies and TV shows in Rhode Island, was the catalyst for the filming of HBO’s “The Gilded Age” in the city, the General Assembly said.
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Additionally, the $17 million film tax incentives that were distributed helped generate approximately $93 million in economic activity throughout the state across multiple industries, such as real estate and equipment rental, transportation, food and hospitality, retail and construction, the General Assembly said.
“Without the Motion Picture Production Tax Credit, HBO’s ‘The Gilded Age’ would not have chosen Newport as a production location,” Trudy Coxe, CEO of the Preservation Society of Newport County, said in a statement. “As a result of the filming at our properties we have seen an increase in the public’s interest in Newport and in ticket sales to the Newport Mansions, further enabling the Preservation Society to continue our important work of preserving an important part of America’s architectural heritage.”
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.
