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FISCAL NOTE
2023 REGULAR SESSION
Introduced
House Bill 3388
By Delegate Summers
[Introduced February 13, 2023; Referred to the Committee on Health and Human Resources then Finance]
A BILL to amend the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new article, designated, §11-13MM-1, §11-13MM-2, and §11-13MM-3; and to amend and reenact §30-1-10 of said code, all relating to creating the health care professionals preceptor tax credit; providing for legislative findings and a purpose; providing for definitions; establishing the Health Care Professionals Preceptor Tax Credit; and providing for the creation of a special fund.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
The Legislature finds that West Virginia faces significant challenges in recruiting and retaining health care professionals. These challenges have contributed greatly to the shortage of trained health care professionals throughout the state, and especially at the local community level. Many health professions' trainees enrolled as students at West Virginia colleges and universities are not being retained after graduation. Data from the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission indicates that the strongest predictor for retaining students is completion of their post-graduation training requirements within the state. Clinical preceptors, other than those employed by academic medical centers, who provide supervised practice hours many trainees require to complete licensure requirements, are difficult to secure in community settings. The provision of community-based alternatives would expand statewide capacity for training the next generation of health care professionals and increase their retention in the state’s community settings. Efficiently and effectively expansion of preceptor resources needed to train and retain health care professionals within the community-based setting requires innovation. The development of a nonrefundable tax credit available to community-based preceptors of public and private higher education institutions is innovative. Providing an incentive to community-based preceptors of certain identified health professions will make the hours of supervision and training required for licensure easier to access and improve the potential for their retention once licensed.
(a) General. — When used in this article, or in the administration of §11-13MM-1 et seq. of this code, terms defined in subsection (b) have the meanings ascribed to them by this section, unless a different meaning is clearly required by either the context in which the term is used, or by specific definition in §11-13MM-1 et seq. of this code.
(b) Terms defined. —
"Community-based setting" means a practice location of the preceptor that is other than an academic medical center including, but not limited to, Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and FQHC Look-a Likes, and, Comprehensive Behavioral Health Centers.
"Eligible taxpayer" means any healthcare professional as that term is defined elsewhere who is a resident of West Virginia, licensed to practice in one of the healthcare professions identified elsewhere, and practices in a community-based (or alternatively a nonacademic medical center) location.
"Personal taxable income" means a resident individual’s West Virginia adjusted gross income; less personal exemptions as set forth elsewhere.
"Health care professional" means a person who is licensed by the State of West Virginia to practice in one of the healthcare professions identified elsewhere.
"Preceptor" means a health care professional licensed to practice in this state pursuant to the provisions of §30-3-1 of this code and who otherwise meets all other requirements of the appropriate licensing body to be a preceptor.
There is created a Health Care Professionals Preceptor Tax Credit Incentive Program for the purpose of providing a personal income tax credit to community-based health professional preceptors who provide preceptorships.
Any preceptor wishing to participate shall register with the WV Higher Education Policy Commission, registered preceptors will be eligible to receive up to three - $500 tax credits on a first-come, first-served basis, each $500 tax credit will be awarded upon the completion of at-least 160 hours of clinical preceptorship of a student enrolled in a health profession program at a public or private West Virginia higher education institution, preceptors must have clinical preceptorship hours verified by a representative of the program in which the trainee is enrolled, tax credits may be used to decrease tax liability but will be nonrefundable, preceptors employed as compensated academic faculty are ineligible for the tax credit. The credit shall flow to the preceptor not the employer.
The aggregate annual amount of the tax credit shall not exceed the excess funds held by each of the medical licensing boards as provided under chapter 30 and transferred to the special fund in the treasurer’s known as the preceptor tax credit program fund. Each year the state budget office will certify to the Higher Education Policy Commission the total amount of funds available for preceptorship tax credits.
(a) The secretary of every board referred to in this chapter shall receive and account for all money which it derives pursuant to the provisions of this chapter which are applicable to it. With the exception of money received as fines, each board shall pay all money which is collected into a separate special fund of the State Treasury which has been established for each board. This money shall be used exclusively by each board for purposes of administration and enforcement of its duties pursuant to this chapter. Any money received as fines shall be deposited into the General Revenue Fund of the State Treasury. When the special fund of any board accumulates to an amount which exceeds twice the annual budget of the board or $10,000, whichever is greater, the State Treasurer shall: Provided, That when a transfer occurs, it shall be deposited into a special fund in the treasurer’s office designated as the Preceptor Tax Credit Incentive Fund; and
(2) Notify the Legislative Auditor that the transfer has been made.
(b) (1) Every licensing board which is authorized by the provisions of this chapter shall be subject to audit by the office of the Legislative Auditor.
(2) Within a reasonable time after the State Treasurer notifies the Legislative Auditor of a transfer required to be made under this section, the Legislative Auditor shall conduct a review of the fee structure of the applicable board to determine if the amount of the board’s fees generate excessive revenue, when compared to the board’s normal expenses. If the Legislative Auditor finds that excess revenue is generated, he or she shall report his or her findings to the Legislature’s Joint Standing Committee on Government Organization, along with recommendations on how the fees can be adjusted to generate only the amount the board reasonably needs to operate under this chapter.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create the Health Care Professionals Preceptor Tax Credit.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.
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