House Finance Committee advances deduction for living organ donors' out-of-pocket costs

The House Finance Committee unanimously approved House Bill 422, a measure to create a personal tax deduction for unreimbursed, out-of-pocket expenses incurred by living organ donors.

Committee executive director Mark Forman summarized the proposal as "a personal index deduction for unreimbursed expenses related to organ donations out of pocket." Representative Haddock, the bill's prime sponsor and a member of the committee, said, "House bill 4 22 is a personal tax deduction for out of pocket expenses incurred by living organ donors." She noted the bill would cap those out-of-pocket expenses at $12,000 and said, "that would be approximately a $368, tax credit that the organ donor, would be able to receive." Representative Haddock told the committee the bill had passed this committee in the prior session but had not received Senate support and that the committee had held a hearing earlier in February.

A nut graf: supporters framed the bill as addressing a disparity in current employer-focused tax incentives and the lack of relief for individual donors. Haddock said employers that provide paid leave for donors can receive a tax benefit, while individual donors currently lack a comparable deduction for expenses.

Sponsor remarks emphasized ongoing need: Haddock said about 12,000 Pennsylvanians were on organ transplant waiting lists and argued the deduction would reduce the financial burden on donors. After brief discussion and no recorded amendments, Chairman Samuelson called for negative votes; the clerk recorded that "House Bill 4 22 passes the House Finance Committee unanimously." The transcript shows Representative Gallagher moved to bring up the bill and Representative Inglis seconded the motion; the vote was recorded as unanimous with no roll-call tally in the transcript.

The committee did not record additional directions to staff or implementation steps on the record. The meeting then adjourned.