Governor signs production incentive bill

The Motion Picture Association of America was giving a shout out Tuesday (July 3) to New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy for signing a new production incentive bill into law.

The bill will provide a tax break up up to 35% of (qualified) expenses for TV and film production, with up to $75 million set aside for the purpose for five years.

“Governor Murphy’s vision to bring the economic and cultural power of storytelling to New Jersey was the catalyst for this strong production incentive program and his leadership was crucial to its enactment,” said MPAA chairman Charles Rivkin.

Steve Gorelick, who heads up the New Jersey Motion Picture and Television Commission says that there are more than a dozen TV shows--broadcast, cable, satellite and internet--scouting locations in New Jersey for "major productions. He said those include 20th Century Fox, Sony Pictures Entertainment, NBCUniversal, Warner Bros., New Line Cinema, ABC, CBS, HBO, Twentieth Century Fox Television, and Warner Bros. Television, or essentially all the major players.

“We applaud Governor Murphy, Senator Weinberg, and the New Jersey legislature for their leadership in bringing many solid middle-class jobs to the Garden State," said Writers Guild of America East (WGAE). "Our New Jersey members spoke out strongly in favor of this bill, which covers writers rooms and incentivizes diversity.  The Writers Guild of America, East and our television members look forward to working in the state to craft stories that will ensure a strong, stable industry for years to come.”