Legislation boosting the value of a rural hospital tax credit gained final passage in the General Assembly on Thursday.
The House and Senate agreed on a compromise to House Bill 180 that increases from 70 percent to 90 percent the value of the credit taxpayers can earn from contributions to qualifying rural hospitals.
Rep. Geoff Duncan, R-Cumming, in 2016 championed a plan to create the tax credit program at 90 percent, but the Senate balked. A 70 percent compromise was signed into law, but the reduced value of the credit has limited their popularity.
The bill also puts a 3 percent cap on how much consultants who help attract donors can be paid.
The AJC reported in December that a Metro Atlanta consultant has signed up to work for about three-fourths of the rural hospitals eligible to receive the donations, much to the consternation of some leading lawmakers.
Jim Kelly, who heads the Georgia HEART Hospital Program and also founded a state tax-credit-funded organization for private school scholarships, said that in the past few months he has signed up 32 of the 49 eligible rural hospitals
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