Bill Text: NJ A549 | 2012-2013 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Provides gross income tax deduction for three years of nursing pay for new enrollees in nursing education programs.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-01-10 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Health and Senior Services Committee [A549 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2012-A549-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
215th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2012 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman CONNIE WAGNER
District 38 (Bergen and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Provides gross income tax deduction for three years of nursing pay for new enrollees in nursing education programs.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
An Act providing a gross income tax deduction for three years of nursing pay for new enrollees in nursing education programs, supplementing Title 54A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. A taxpayer who initially enrolls on or after August 1, 2006 in a nursing education program shall be allowed a deduction from gross income, after any deductions taken by the taxpayer pursuant to N.J.S.54A:3-2 through N.J.S.54A:3-6, in the amount of the taxpayer's salary, wages, or other remuneration received for services rendered in this State as a professional nurse licensed pursuant to section 4 of P.L.1947, c.262 (C.45:11-26), a practical nurse licensed pursuant to section 5 of P.L.1947, c.262 (C.45:11-27), or as an advanced practice nurse certified pursuant to section 8 or 9 of P.L.1991, c.377 (C.45:11-47 or 45:11-48), or under the authority of a recognized multistate licensure privilege pursuant to P.L.2001, c.340 (C.45:11A-1 et seq.), during up to three consecutive taxable years which taxable years each end after the taxpayer's completion of the nursing education program.
b. As used in this act:
"Nursing education program" means a nursing education degree or diploma program offered by an approved institution of higher education, a nursing education program offered by a hospital school of nursing, or a nursing education program offered by a county vocational school, that lead to licensure; and
"Approved institution" means a two-year or four-year public or independent institution of higher education, a hospital school of nursing located in this State that offers an approved course of study, or a county vocational school that offers an approved course of study, and has been approved by the New Jersey Board of Nursing as an institution in which students may enroll for the purposes of this act.
2. This act shall take effect immediately and apply to taxable years beginning after enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill provides a deduction under the New Jersey gross income tax for the annual pay of nurses for up to three years for nursing services provided in this State by individuals who first enroll in nurses' training programs on or after August 1, 2006. This bill allows these new nurses to deduct from income, for New Jersey gross income tax purposes, all their salary, wages or other remuneration they receive for nursing services rendered in this State for three years. This effectively tax-free income will provide a substantial incentive for individuals to choose nursing as a career in New Jersey.
This State is experiencing a critical shortage in its nursing workforce, which is expected to worsen in the next two decades. A shortage of 14,000 registered nurses and 3,800 licensed practical nurses is forecast for 2006; and, by 2020, the shortage may be over 24,000 registered nurses. Similarly, a severe shortage of licensed practical nurses is forecast.
The demand for nurses at all levels of training and in all health care settings, including hospitals, nursing homes, veterans homes and home health care and community-based programs, is increasing as the population gets older, but the number of students entering nursing education programs has been declining since 1997. Recent nurse workforce projections conclude that, in the absence of new measures to attract new nurses into the profession, the number of nurses likely to retire in the next decade will far exceed the number of nurses likely to enter the profession during that time.
This bill responds to an urgent need to address the shortage of nurses by providing a major gross income tax savings incentive to increase enrollment in the State's nursing education programs, to ensure that the State is able to maintain a sustained pool of qualified nursing professionals.
