Concord
Across the street, a bill to expand on the concept with a million dollars in tax credits drew a touch more skepticism.
Senate Bill 563 would expand the authority of the state’s Community Development Finance Authority, allowing it to distribute tax credits to help with recovery-friendly workplace training.
The money would support educating employers on how to reduce substance abuse in the workplace, boost mental health initiatives and create conditions that support the ability for those recovering to re-enter the workforce. Under the bill, businesses could contribute to the training, carried out by nonprofit organizations, and write off up to 75 percent in taxes.
Up to $1 million would be eligible for the recovery-specific write-offs per fiscal year; that money would go directly into the nonprofits providing the services.
It’s a proposal that’s had success so far, passing the Senate by voice vote earlier this month. But at a House Ways and Means Committee hearing on Tuesday, some lawmakers questioned its approach.
“I look at this as a creative way (to handle addiction in the workforce), but I’m curious about whether it’s the appropriate way,” said Rep. Joelle Martin, D-Milford, who pointed to organizations that already have launched initiatives.
Others had different concerns. Rep. Susan Almy, D-Lebanon, pointed to the recent financial troubles in New Hampshire’s nonprofit treatment centers, asking how the short, year-to-year bursts of money could make a dent financially.
But Katy Easterly Martey, executive director of the Community Development Finance Authority, said that the organization has plenty of existing organizations to help kick the program off. And she said the intent of the program is to connect businesses with treatment centers to find new paths forward — ones that would address the opioid epidemic and boost the economy.
“It is an innovative approach: We need innovative approaches that (involve) public and private partnerships to solve this,” she said.