California enacted legislation today providing massive increases in the state’s tax breaks for film and television production. Reuters reports that Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill that more than triples tax breaks for entertainment companies.

The move is aimed at stopping the flight of productions to venues outside California.

In a press release sent out after the signing ceremony at Hollywood’s TCL Chinese Theater, L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti said: “This legislation targets the heart and soul of this industry and our middle class — people who swing hammers, run cable and serve food on set so they can pay the bills and spend money in our economy.”

The measure “won approval just days after Nevada persuaded electric car maker Tesla Motors to build a massive battery factory near Reno with $1.3 billion in tax credits and other incentives,” the report notes.

The story adds: “The state’s economy has taken a $2 billion hit from runaway production in the past four years as producers sought cheaper places to do business, according to the California Film Commission.”

The measure increases the funding of tax credits for movie and television production to $330 million per year, up from about $100 million. The credits will be given out via a lottery, with priority given to those firms that create the most jobs in the state and help the state’s economy the most, according to Gov. Brown’s office.

Gov. Jerry Brown