Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee
JOINT FAVORABLE REPORT
Bill No.: HB-5014
AN ACT ESTABLISHING A TAX CREDIT FOR PROVIDERS OF CLINICAL
Title: NURSING EXPERIENCES.
Vote Date: 3/10/2020
Vote Action: Joint Favorable Substitute
PH Date: 2/13/2020
File No.:
Disclaimer: The following JOINT FAVORABLE Report is prepared for the benefit of the
members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and
explanation and does not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber
thereof for any purpose.
SPONSORS OF BILL:
Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee
REASONS FOR BILL:
This bill allows preceptors to claim an income tax or corporation business tax credit of $1,000
per 100 preceptor hours provided and up to $4,000 per tax year with a cap of $1.5 million per
fiscal year, with the intent of providing an incentive for physicians, physician assistants,
nurses, and APRNs who agree to serve as preceptors and to reduce the financial cost for
higher education institutions who are currently expending money to provide preceptors for
nursing students. The substitute bill adds language requiring that preceptors provide
preceptorship hours at no cost to the higher education institution in which their nursing
students are enrolled, and adds language limiting one preceptor to claim a credit a for the
same 100 preceptorship hours.
RESPONSE FROM ADMINISTRATION/AGENCY:
None submitted.
NATURE AND SOURCES OF SUPPORT:
Dr. Deborah Chyun, Dean, UConn School of Nursing: Dr. Chyun submitted testimony in
support of the bill. She states that there is a projected nurse shortage over the next 5 years
and cities the American Nurses Association as saying such a shortage already exists. She
explains that her school requires at least 80 preceptors per semester, but that preceptors
have not been taking on as many students because doing so results in a financial loss for the
preceptor. She explains further that some colleges and universities have resorted to paying
preceptors directly in order to offset their loss in revenue and that these costs are ultimately
passed on to the students. She reports that her school will have to turn away 50 qualified
APRN applicants because of a lack of preceptors willing to train these students, which
contributes to the ongoing nurse shortage in the United States. She therefore believes that
legislating a tax credit for preceptors will create an incentive to take on more nursing
students. She cites that preceptor tax credits have already been passed into law in Hawaii,
Maryland, Colorado, and Georgia.
Yale University School of Nursing and Medicine: Multiple people associated with the
school submitted testimony in support of the bill. They note that the state faces a shortage of
nurses as well as a shortage of preceptors willing to provide their services free of charge.
They state that lately some schools in the state have started paying providers to work with
their nursing students which has resulted in added fees for nursing students who need to
train in their field. They further state that students who cannot afford these added fees are
often rejected by preceptors. They relate that there is a lack of available clinical sites to train
nursing students which limits their ability to train new nurse practitioners, that finding an
adequate number of preceptors is a continuing challenge for nursing schools in Connecticut,
that most preceptors receive no compensation for their participation in teaching, and that it
behooves the state to do what it can to encourage ample clinical training opportunities. They
believe a tax credit on preceptor individual incomes is a good solution for helping to retain
quality preceptors and educate the next generation of providers. They note that Georgia,
Maryland, New York, and Colorado have passed similar tax credit legislation for preceptor
individual incomes:
Dr. Veronica Barcelona, Assistant Professor, Yale School of Nursing
Tracy Chidsey, Associate Director, Yale School of Nursing Clinical Support Unit
Andre de Lisser, Lecturer, Yale School of Nursing
Dr. Joanne DeSanto Iennaco, Associate Professor of Nursing and Psychiatry,
Yale School of Nursing
Dr. Joan A. Kearney, Associate Professor, Yale School of Nursing
Dr. Ami Marshall, Lecturer, Yale School of Nursing
Erin M. Morelli, Lecturer and Clinical Faculty, Yale School of Nursing
Dilice Robertson, Preceptor Liaison, Yale School of Nursing
Sarah D. Wheeler, Clinical Instructor, Yale School of Nursing
Dr. Julie A. Womack, Associate Professor, Yale School of Nursing
Dr. Mary Alice Donius, Dean of Davis & Henley College of Nursing, Sacred Heart
University: Dr. Donius submitted testimony in support of the bill. She notes that the Family
Nurse Practitioner graduate programs at her college are unable to admit an additional 20 to
25 students per academic year due to a limited number of clinical preceptors available. She
believes a tax credit for preceptors will encourage nurses to serve as preceptors, thus
eliminating the shortage of available preceptors as well as the shortage of nurses in
Connecticut.
Davina Dube, Registered Nurse & Family Nurse Practitioner Student, University of
Saint Joseph: Ms. Dube submitted testimony in support of the bill. She notes that at her
university, students must pay a clinical placement fee that has been added to their tuition that
is used to incentivize preceptors. She further notes that nurse practitioner students are in a
competition with other monetary incentives offered by medical and physician assistant
students and believes this is a cruel practice that puts emphasis on dollar amount offered
over the academic merits of students seeking a clinical education.
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Dr. Heather Evans, Registered Nurse: Dr. Evans submitted testimony in support of the bill.
She notes that the lack of available preceptors has become a large problem in Connecticut
and nationwide. She also notes that thousands of qualified nursing school applicants are
being turned away due to a lack of clinical preceptors to train such students. She strongly
believes that providing a tax credit incentive for preceptors will help nursing schools attract
and retain preceptors.
Dr. Pamela Forte, Director of Clinical Education, Southern Connecticut State
University: Dr. Forte submitted testimony in support of the bill. She notes that many
preceptors need to charge universities a preceptor fee per student to offset the additional
time required to properly precept a student. She further notes that these fees cost SCSU
about $20,000 per year and that the school does not pass on this fee to students which
significantly impacts SCSU's already-limited budget. She emphasizes that nursing is a
practice-based discipline and it is important to provide nursing students with direct clinical
experiences. She believes this bill will help increase the number of preceptors that are
currently critically needed.
Dr. Jenna LoGiudice, Midwifery Program Director, Fairfield University: Dr. LoGiudice
submitted testimony in support of the bill. She notes that there is a shortage of nurses in the
United States and that more providers of clinical nursing experience are needed to precept
for nursing and midwifery students. She believes that it is imperative for the State of
Connecticut to look at the long-term benefit of providing a tax credit for preceptors.
Heather Mangino, Nursing Instructor, University of Saint Joseph: Ms. Mangino
submitted testimony in support of the bill. She testifies that she worked as a preceptor at
Hartford Hospital and that it was a stressful and demanding job. She notes that preceptors do
not typically receive any type of benefit from working with students and that most facilities do
not provide incentives for nurses to be preceptors. She believes providing a tax credit as an
incentive to precept will provide nursing students with an adequate number of mentors.
Dr. Lisa Rebeschi, Associate Dean, Quinnipiac University School of Nursing: Dr.
Rebeschi submitted testimony in support of the bill. She attests to the great challenge of
securing quality clinical sites due to an inadequate number of preceptors available. She
explains that her nursing programs are limited in the number of qualified applicants they can
accept due to the shortage of preceptors. She believes a tax credit may serve to incentivize
RNs to work with students as preceptors.
Dr. Theodora Sirota, Professor of Nursing, University of Saint Joseph: Dr. Sirota
submitted testimony in support of the bill. She states that more people than ever need
frequent primary health care attention, but that nursing schools are struggling to educate
enough primary care providers to meet the needs of such people because they cannot afford
the fees that some agencies require for preceptors to take on trainees. She attests that she
has personally spent too much time attempting to place students with preceptors even weeks
after a semester has started which forces those students to withdraw from their current
clinical course and hinders their ability to progress in the nursing program.
Dr. Cesarina Thompson, Dean of Nursing and Health Professions College of
Education, University of Hartford: Dr. Thompson submitted testimony in support of the bill.
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She notes that our nation is facing a significant shortage of registered nurses and that
shortage is projected to reach one million RNs by 2030. She feels that the State of
Connecticut must graduate a larger number of RNs to increase the number of available RNs.
She notes that the preparation of RNs relies heavily on clinical learning experiences which
has become increasingly difficult for hospitals and other healthcare organizations to provide
due to a variety of economic factors. She believes that this bill offers a timely economic
incentive for healthcare organizations to support a greater number of RN trainees.
Kelly Tobin, Registered Nurse; Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Student,
University of Saint Joseph: Ms. Tobin submitted testimony in support of the bill. She
testifies that she has personally experienced barriers to finding preceptors at clinical
placements as a graduate nurse practitioner student. She emphasizes that a preceptor's time
is extremely valuable and that asking an established advanced provider to further carry the
burden of precepting a nursing student is often a turn-off for many unless there is a potential
for a significant financial gain.
Jennifer Widness, President, Connecticut Conference of Independent Colleges (CCIC):
Ms. Widness submitted testimony in support of the bill on behalf of the CCIC. They feel that
one of the State of Connecticut's greatest talent shortages is in the area of healthcare. They
note that institutions are challenged to produce a greater number of healthcare workers due
to the limited number of clinical preceptors available to oversee the student clinical
experiences necessary to complete nursing programs. They believe the state would be well-
suited to support preceptors with a tax credit.
NATURE AND SOURCES OF OPPOSITION:
None expressed.
Reported by: Justin Boutin, Assistant Clerk Date: March 11, 2020
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