To help attract movie and TV business to New Jersey, the state has a special program that offers tax credits to production companies.

The state offers a 2 percent diversity tax credit for productions that employ at least 15 percent women and other minorities in key creative positions and as members of their production crew.

The Garden State Film and Digital Media Jobs Act also allows production companies to get a 30 percent transferable tax credit if they work in North Jersey and 35 percent if they use locations in South Jersey.

According to Steve Gorelick, the executive director of the New Jersey Motion Picture and Television Commission, a special Diversity in Film Forum will be held March 20 in Newark. He said participants will get detailed information about the diversity tax credit bonus and hear from members of a panel, including first lady Tammy Murphy, and meet executives from Paramount, NBC Universal, Warner Brothers, Sony and the Motion Picture Association of America.

Gorelick said many production companies already value diversity.

He said that having this diversity bonus helps to drive home the point “that our state is diverse and inclusive and we’re going to demonstrate that.”

“It’s an essential of what we’re trying to accomplish here when we’re trying to create opportunities, business and jobs, that everyone is included.”

You can contact reporter David Matthau at David.Matthau@townsquaremedia.com