Committee hears bill to raise rural health practitioner tax credit; amendment adds providers, members adopt 10-year sunset and table bill

Representative Martinez introduced House Bill 226 to raise the rural health-care practitioner tax credit and to require the Department of Health to certify eligible practitioners to the Taxation and Revenue Department.

The bill’s sponsor told the committee, “This bill increases the rural health care tax practitioners act, and it requires the Department of Health to determine eligible practitioners to who will qualify for the tax credit and provide a certification, of eligibility to the tax and rev department.” The measure would raise several existing credit amounts: for example, the bill text raises a current $5,000 credit to $15,000 for physicians, osteopathic physicians, dentists and psychologists and raises a $3,000 credit to $9,000 for pharmacists and dental hygienists, according to the sponsor’s summary.

Why it matters: New Mexico lawmakers and business and health-sector advocates told the committee that the state faces a shortage of providers in rural areas and that a larger tax credit could be an additional incentive to attract and keep clinicians.

Business and health organizations voiced support in public comment. Deval Westfall, executive vice president of policy and programs for the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, said the credit increase is needed because "it’s gonna take a whole bag of carrots to get the health care providers who Mexico so desperately needs to come to and stay in our great state. And this tax credit is an important 1. We urge you to vote yes." Other supporters who spoke included representatives of the New Mexico Nursing Association, New Mexico Hospital Association, Desert State Physical Therapy Network and the New Mexico Optometric Association.

Amendment and sunset: Representative Martinez offered an amendment aligning HB226 with a related bill by Representative Garcia; the amendment added numerous provider categories to the definition of eligible practitioners, including licensed practical nurses, emergency medical technicians, paramedics, speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, chiropractic physicians, doctors of oriental medicine, naturopathic doctors and naturopaths. Gloria Doherty, a nurse practitioner who testified, told the committee the bill requires providers to work "over 1,400 hours in the rural area" to qualify.

Representative Silva moved an amendment to add a sunset period; after some back-and-forth Silva settled on a 10-year sunset and the sponsor accepted it as a friendly amendment. Committee members asked for fiscal detail: Representative Lundstrom requested participation and cost data for the existing program and for the enlarged eligibility list so the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) and the sponsor could estimate the fiscal impact. The sponsor agreed to provide that information the same day.

Outcome and next steps: After debate the committee moved to temporarily table HB226 as twice amended. The motion to temporarily table was seconded; the chair announced no opposition and the item was tabled for later consideration so fiscal impacts and package placement can be clarified.

Context and unresolved questions: Committee members pressed the bill’s sponsor on how “rural” is defined; the sponsor said the bill references the federal Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) designation: "rural means a rural county or an unincorporated area of a partially rural county as designated by the Health Resources and Services Administration, the United States Department of Health and Human Services." Members also asked for historic program participation rates and updated fiscal estimates to account for the amendment’s broader eligibility.

The committee did not adopt final passage; staff and the sponsor were directed to provide the requested participation and cost information to committee members and to LFC before further action.