The Terminator couldn't have done a better job of killing off a state House bill that would have repealed lucrative tax incentives for the movie business.

By a vote of 5-2 Tuesday, the Labor and Human Resources committee tabled House Bill 52, sponsored by Rep. Dennis Kintigh, R-Roswell, after a sometimes heated debate about the worth of such incentives.

Kintigh proposed a similar bill last year, which was also tabled. He acknowledged he wasn't surprised it died again this year. "It's done for this term," he said after the session.

With the state facing an estimated $600 million shortfall, lawmakers are looking for places to cut spending. Citing various national reports — and two well-publicized New Mexico studies from last year that offered diverse opinions on the financial benefits of the film business — Kintigh suggested that the "fiscal impact (of the film business) is overwhelmingly negative." He said the incentives cost the state over $80 million last year.

He stressed that the lack of public information on production budgets and the state's zero-percent loan for qualifying film projects lead to uncertain data.

Roughly 40 supporters showed up to support the tax breaks, including construction company owners, business operators, film technicians, actors, lobbyists and business representatives from around the state.

Maxine Riley, corporate account manager of Enterprise Rent-A-Car in Albuquerque, said the film business has served as a "significant and growing industry for rental dealerships," estimating her company leases up to 50 vehicles for each film that comes to New Mexico.

David Baca, a member of IATSE 480, the local film technicians' union, said he's seen nothing but economic growth since he started working in the industry in 1993.

"We're now a significant player in a global industry," he said.

The attendees' comments appeared to have an impact on several committee members, although Rep. Dennis J. Roch, R-Tucumcari — who voted against tabling the bill — said, "I'm not convinced that eliminating these incentives will eliminate all those jobs. This is money that could go to schools and roads."

His comments were echoed by Rep. Candy Spence Ezzell, R-Roswell, who told the assemblage that there must be a way to compromise by cutting, but not eliminating, the incentives.

"We can't keep doing this," she said, suggesting the film industry acts as if it is above dealing with the everyday money issues that most New Mexicans face.

Still, on the surface it's hard to argue with success, and since the governor made filmmaking a cornerstone of his economic development package in 2003, a number of high-profile films have been shot here, including Crazy Heart, No Country For Old Men, 3:10 to Yuma and Terminator Salvation. And by most accounts, the state's film crew base is somewhere around 1,200 strong.

Lisa Strout, director of the New Mexico Film Office, said she expected a healthy year of filmmaking in 2010, though she declined to give specifics.

Still, though Variety magazine recently named New Mexico the No. 3 place to make movies among the 50 states, and MovieMaker magazine tapped Albuquerque as the No. 1 city to make movies, the merit of film incentives programs continues to be questioned around the country.

In New Mexico, a study prepared last year by the accounting firm Ernst & Young stated that in 2007, 30 films made in New Mexico generated over $250 million of spending.

A rival report by New Mexico State University suggests the state nets less than 15 cents for every dollar spent on the industry. Kintigh cited both reports in his argument Tuesday.

Committee chair Miguel P. Garcia, D-Albuquerque, offered a common-sense response to the conflicting data, saying that even when using the slightest of multipliers, the film business must be having some positive financial impact on the state.

After the bill was tabled, Kintigh said the lack of transparency on the part of the state in revealing specific loan deals still needs to be addressed. He also said he realizes he's making enemies.

"There are people who are seriously invested in this industry; their lives depend upon it," he said. "I don't want to be perceived as someone who wants to destroy their dreams."

Next year, he mused, he may look for that compromise deal that Ezzell suggested.

Contact Robert Nott at 986-3021 or rnott@sfnewmexican.com