Steve Precourt for State Representative District 41

Visit the set of any film being shot in and around Orlando and you're likely to see Michael Finn. A veteran assistant director, he has been on local productions from "The Waterboy" in 1998 to "The Final Destination" in 2009. It's finding work here that's always a problem.

So Finn often ends up traveling to Tennessee or Michigan, California or Utah, "where the work is." But these days Finn is back in Central Florida working on a local project, thanks in part to the Florida Legislature's approval of $53.5 million to fund film-business incentive credits this year. That's more than double the amount of previous incentives and will total $242 million during the next five years.

From "Flipper" to "Miami Vice," from "The Yearling" to "Bad Boys II," Florida has a long history in film and television. But companies have been increasingly looking elsewhere over the past decade, drawn by states that offer generous incentive programs.

Florida is now ready to compete with its own tax credit program that both business leaders and public officials believe will help the state rebuild one of its legacy industries.