Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman AURA K. DUNN
District 25 (Morris and Somerset)
SYNOPSIS
Provides for voluntary contributions by taxpayers on gross income tax returns to support healthcare education.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning voluntary contributions through gross income tax returns to support healthcare education in New Jersey, supplementing chapter 9 of Title 54A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. There is established in the Department of the Treasury a special fund to be known as the "Edward J. Ill Excellence in Medicine Scholarship Fund."
b. A taxpayer shall have the opportunity to indicate on the taxpayer's New Jersey gross income tax return that a portion of the taxpayer's tax refund or an enclosed contribution shall be deposited in the "Edward J. Ill Excellence in Medicine Scholarship Fund."
c. Any costs incurred by the Division of Taxation for collection or administration attributable to this section may be deducted from receipts collected pursuant to this section, as determined by the Director of the Division of Budget and Accounting in the Department of the Treasury. The State Treasurer shall deposit net contributions collected pursuant to this section into the "Edward J. Ill Excellence in Medicine Scholarship Fund."
d. The Legislature shall annually appropriate all monies deposited in the "Edward J. Ill Excellence in Medicine Scholarship Fund" to the Edward J. Ill Excellence in Medicine Foundation Inc. for the purposes of supporting healthcare education in New Jersey through scholarship awards.
2. This act shall take effect immediately and apply to taxable years beginning on or after the January 1 next following the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill provides for voluntary contributions by taxpayers on gross income tax returns to support healthcare education in New Jersey through scholarship awards. The bill establishes a special fund in the Department of the Treasury, to be known as the "Edward J. Ill Excellence in Medicine Scholarship Fund," to which all donations collected from voluntary contributions are deposited. The bill is in honor of Edward J. Ill, M.D., a New Jersey physician who was a pioneer in promoting continuing education in ways that set the national standard.
As tuition rises year after
year and pressures continue to mount for aspiring healthcare professionals, the
need to support these aspiring healthcare professionals grows. The intent of
the "Edward J. Ill Excellence in Medicine Scholarship Fund" is to support young
healthcare providers so they can afford to remain in the State and have productive careers for the benefit of New Jersey. Recipients of the scholarship awards, through the Edward J. Ill Excellence in Medicine Foundation, are New Jersey residents demonstrating excellence in academics, a commitment to the community and the State of New Jersey.
The bill requires the Legislature to appropriate all funds deposited in the special fund to the Edward J. Ill Excellence in Medicine Foundation for distribution through scholarship awards.