SB223 Alabama 2024 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

April WeaverSenator

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2024

Title

Rural Hospital Investment Program established, tax credits for donations to rural hospitals authorized

Summary

SB223 would建立 a Rural Hospital Investment Program that gives tax credits to donors to support qualifying rural hospitals in Alabama and creates a board to oversee donations and how the funds are used.

What This Bill Does

It creates the Rural Hospital Investment Program and an overseeing board within the State Treasurer’s Office, with support from the Department of Revenue. It offers a state income tax credit to individuals and entities that donate to eligible rural hospitals, with specific annual and per-hospital limits. Eligible hospitals can use donated funds for care, operations, maintenance, and facility upgrades, and the program includes reporting requirements and preapproval processes to ensure compliance.

Who It Affects

• Qualified donors (individuals, households, partnerships, and corporations) receive a state income tax credit for qualified donations, subject to annual and entity-specific caps and carryforward rules.
• Qualifying rural hospitals (rural general acute care, rural emergency, or critical access hospitals located in designated rural areas) may receive donations to support care, operations, and capital improvements, and must meet eligibility criteria and submit five-year plans.

Key Provisions

• Establishes the Rural Hospital Investment Program and the Rural Hospital Investment Program Board within the Office of the State Treasurer to oversee development, operation, and eligibility determinations, with support from the Department of Revenue.
• Defines eligible rural hospitals as licensed rural general acute care, rural emergency, or critical access hospitals located in rural areas, serving Medicaid/Medicare without discrimination, serving indigent patients, compliant with audits, and submitting a five-year viability and use plan.
• Allows qualified donations to be used by eligible rural hospitals for care, operations, maintenance, capital upgrades, and improvements; permits hospitals to hire staff to solicit or manage donations with fees not exceeding 5% of total donations.
• Provides tax credits for donors: individuals, heads of household, or single filers receive 100% of the donated amount with a $15,000 annual limit; married filers receive 100% with a $30,000 annual limit; certain pass-through entities have a $450,000 annual limit; corporations have a $500,000 annual limit or 75% of tax liability, whichever is less, with pro rata sharing for ownership.
• Credits are nonrefundable and can be carried forward up to three years; total credits available per tax year are capped by the program’s annual aggregate limits and per-hospital caps.
• Annual statewide credit caps: $38 million for FY2025, $60 million for FY2026, and $80 million for FY2027 and onward; no more than $2 million can be contributed to any one eligible hospital per tax year.
• Requires the Department of Revenue and the board to preapprove qualified donations for compliance; mandates annual reporting by hospitals and a joint year-end report with the department to the Legislature.
• Effective dates: the act becomes effective October 1, 2024, with the income tax credit program becoming effective January 1, 2025 for the 2025 tax year.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 22, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Health