'Army Wives' spared by key Senate vote

COLUMBIA — “Army Wives” actors Catherine Bell and Kim Delaney traveled to the Statehouse to lend their star power to a key legislative vote that could have sent the hit cable show packing.

The Senate voted 28-13 to override a budget veto today on the film incentives, after initially agreeing to sustain the governor’s veto. The matter cannot be voted on again.

Bell, who is pregnant, joked that the anticipation had her baby wondering if it was time to be born.

“The future of the show really rides on it,” Bell said. “We would absolutely move.”

She pulled out her smart phone and fired off text messages to the crew members, who she said were waiting for the news.

The Legislature has returned for the day to take up Gov. Mark Sanford’s vetoes. The Senate is finishing it work on the consideration of the governor’s budget vetoes. The House considered the budget vetoes during the Legislature’s special session two weeks ago and today has a handful of legislative vetoes to take up.

The veto of the budget provision that provides film incentives at their current level jeopardized the state’s ability to keep the hit Lifetime drama “Army Wives” filming in Charleston.

The budget item held film incentives at 20 percent for South Carolina residents’ wages and 30 percent for supplies purchased from in-state businesses. Sanford’s said his veto was justified because the budget provision increased the rates from 15 percent for each rebate and, in doing so, changed state law and violated legislative rules.

“We should not be increasing the incentives we give to Hollywood film companies in a year when we’re making such drastic cuts to core government functions,” the governor wrote in his veto explanation.

In a letter to lawmakers, “Army Wives” representatives wrote that the series has contributed more than $120 million in production costs to the local economy since it landed in Charleston in 2006. Just this year, in filming the fourth season, the show hired 355 employees and 1,101 extras and paid more than $19 million in salaries and wages, the letter states.

Four lead actors and 11 crew members also have purchased homes in South Carolina, including both Bell and Delaney.

Bell plays Denise Sherwood on the show. Delaney’s character is Claudia Joy Holden.

“We needed to stay filming here,” Delaney said. “We bought houses here and we want to live here. The show would not have shot here without the tax incentives.”

Delaney added the show has a multiplier effect in the community such as home repair work and dry cleaning, in addition to providing jobs for many people. Bell noted that the art department on “Army Wives” spends $19,000 a month on supplies for the set.

Sen. Joel Lourie, D-Columbia, led the effort in the Senate to rally the votes behind the veto override.

“Y’all are good now,” he said to Bell and Delaney. “Congratulations. Nice to meet you. It’s good to see you on TV.”

When “Army Wives” chose to film in Charleston, the decision came with a six-year plan based on incentives of 20 percent for wages and 30 percent for supplies, said the show’s unit production manager, Barbara D’Alessandro.

A state’s ability to stay in the film industry is a competitive matter. By comparison, North Carolina offers a 25 percent tax credit on in-state spending for goods and services. And Georgia offers a flat tax credit of 20 percent, plus an additional 10 percent by including a Georgia logo in the finished product. Some states offer even more.