HUDSON COUNTY — State Sen. Paul Sarlo (D-Bergen), chair of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, will hold a special public committee hearing in Secaucus on Wednesday, June 9 on the fate of the state’s Film and Digital Media Tax Credit Program. Under the program, TV and film productions that shot in New Jersey have for years received tax credits. The program, which is comparable to similar tax incentives offered by most states, helped lure a number of TV and film productions – including “Mercy,” Law & Order: SVU,” “Oz,” and “The Sopranos” – west of the Hudson River.
But not for long.
Last November, Sarlo proposed expanding this tax credit. But more recently Gov. Chris Christie, who was elected the same month Sarlo made this proposal, has made a proposal of his own: In the face of the New Jersey’s current fiscal crisis, Christie has proposed eliminating the tax altogether.
Although the credit has yet to be eliminated, at least one TV production – the NBC drama series “Mercy” – has decided to film in New York next season.
“Mercy” had been filming at 10 Enterprise Ave. in Secaucus.
The Sarlo hearing will be held at the 10 Enterprise Ave. studio from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. – E. Assata Wright