COLUMBUS (WCMH) — Right now, motion picture productions for television and film enjoy a $40 million incentive program here in Ohio.

That money is split up and divvied up between small, medium, and large productions that want to come to the state to shoot their movie or television program; and while it sounds like a lot, $40 million go fast.

“We’ve run out of money consistently every year and we’ve had great projects coming here that really shine the light on ohio,” said Ivan Schwarz, the president of the Greater Cleveland Film Commission.

Cleveland has seen major blockbuster movies like Avengers come to town as a result of the incentive program.

Now Schwarz and other film commissions around the state want to see the program increased and expanded.

According to Schwarz for every $1 in incentives the state provides the productions pump $2 into the local economy.

This immediate return on investment is in contrast to some deals where major corporations will promise to hire a certain number of employees within the first 5-10 years.

Right now, there is a lot of demand to shoot in Ohio.

According to Schwarz, Hollywood is starting to realize there are a lot of interesting places to film in the state, and increasing the program from $40 million to $100 million will entice more productions to choose the Ohio location over one in another state.

Beyond increasing the pool of money available to attract these productions and the jobs they create when they come here, the bill opens it up to Broadway productions.

For decades Chicago has been a destination city for Broadway plays to open for long-term engagements.

Schwarz wants that to happen here in Ohio; that could mean productions like Hamilton could find a home in Columbus, or Cincinnati, or even Cleveland.

“Let’s say it comes to Columbus, or it comes to Cleveland, and it’s here for 9 months; think about the visitors that are going to come to this city that never would have come here before,” said Schwarz.

The bill is being sponsored by State Representative Kurt Schuring, a member of the Majority party’s leadership team, and the bill is likely to get a significant push as a result.

It is already scheduled for a tentative vote out of committee this week. House Bill 525 was introduced last week.