NY Ment Hygiene L § 32.38 (2021)
2021 New York Laws MHY - Mental Hygiene Title E - General Provisions Article 32 - Regulation and Quality Control of Chemical Dependence Services and Compulsive Gambling Services. 32.38 - The Recovery Tax Credit Program.

§ 32.38 The recovery tax credit program.  (a)  Authorization.  The  commissioner  is  authorized  to  and  shall establish and administer the recovery tax credit program to provide  tax incentives  to certified employers for employing eligible individuals in recovery from a  substance  use  disorder  in  part-time  and  full-time positions in the state. The commissioner is authorized to allocate up to two  million dollars of tax credits annually for the recovery tax credit program beginning in the year two thousand twenty.  (b) Definitions. 1. The term "certified employer"  means  an  employer that  has  received  a  certificate  of tax credit from the commissioner after the commissioner has determined that the employer:  (i) provides a recovery supportive  environment  for  their  employees evidenced  by  a  formal  working  relationship with a local recovery or treatment provider certified  by  the  office  to  provide  support  for employers  including  any  necessary assistance in the hiring process of eligible individuals in recovery  from  a  substance  use  disorder  and training for employers or supervisors; and  (ii)  fulfills  the eligibility criteria set forth in this section and by the commissioner to participate in the recovery  tax  credit  program established in this section.   2. The term "eligible individual" means an individual with a substance use disorder as that term is defined in section 1.03 of this chapter who is  in  a  state  of  wellness  where there is an abatement of signs and symptoms that characterize active addiction and has demonstrated to  the qualified employer's satisfaction, pursuant to guidelines established by the  office,  that  he  or she has completed a course of treatment or is currently in receipt of treatment for such  substance  use  disorder.  A relapse  in  an  individual's  state  of  wellness  shall  not  make the individual ineligible, so long as  such  individual  shows  a  continued commitment   to  recovery  that  aligns  with  an  individual's  relapse prevention plan, discharge plan, and/or recovery plan.  (c) Application and approval process. 1. To participate in the program established by this section, an employer must, in a form  prescribed  by the  commissioner,  apply annually to the office by January fifteenth to claim credit based on eligible individuals employed during the preceding calendar year. As part of such application, an employer must:  (i) Agree to allow the department of taxation and finance to share its tax information with  the  office  of  alcoholism  and  substance  abuse services.  However,  any  information  shared  because of this agreement shall not be available for disclosure  or  inspection  under  the  state freedom of information law.  (ii)  Allow  the office of alcoholism and substance abuse services and its agents access to  limited  and  specific  information  necessary  to monitor   compliance   with   program   eligibility  requirements.  Such information shall be confidential and only used for the  stated  purpose of this section.  (iii)  Demonstrate that the employer has satisfied program eligibility requirements and provided all the information necessary,  including  the number  of hours worked by any eligible individual, for the commissioner to compute an actual amount of credit allowed.   2. (i) After reviewing the application and finding it sufficient,  the commissioner   shall   issue  a  certificate  of  tax  credit  by  March thirty-first. Such certificate shall include, but not be limited to, the name and employer identification number of the certified  employer,  the amount  of  credit  that the certified employer may claim, and any other information the commissioner  of  taxation  and  finance  determines  is necessary.  (ii)  In determining the amount of credit that any employer may claim, the commissioner  shall  review  all  claims  submitted  for  credit  by employers  and, to the extent that the total amount claimed by employers exceeds the amount allocated for the  program  in  that  calendar  year, shall issue credits on a pro-rata basis corresponding to each claimant's share of the total claimed amount.  (d)  Eligibility.  A  certified  employer  shall  be entitled to a tax credit equal to the product of one dollar and the number of hours worked by each eligible individual during such eligible individual's period  of employment.  The  credit  shall  not  be  allowed  unless  the  eligible individual has worked in state for a minimum of five hundred  hours  for the  certified  employer,  and  the  credit  cannot  exceed two thousand dollars per eligible individual employed by the  certified  employer  in the  state.  The certified employer may claim a credit for each eligible employee starting on the day the employee is hired and ends on  December thirty-first of the immediately succeeding calendar year or the last day of  the employee's employment by the certified employer, whichever comes first. If an employee has worked in excess of five hundred hours between the date of hiring and December thirty-first of that year,  an  employer can  elect  to compute and claim a credit for such employee in that year based on the hours worked by December thirty-first.  Alternatively,  the employer  may elect to include such individual in the computation of the credit in the year immediately succeeding the year in which the employee was hired. In such case, the credit shall be computed on  the  basis  of all  hours  worked  by such eligible individual from the date of hire to the earlier of the last day of employment or  December  thirty-first  of the  succeeding  year.  However,  in  no  event may an employee generate credit for hours worked in excess of two thousand hours. An employer may claim credit only once with respect to any eligible individual  and  may not aggregate hours of two or more employees to reach the minimum number of hours.  (e)  Duties  of  the  commissioner.  The  commissioner  shall annually provide to the commissioner of the department of  taxation  and  finance information  about the program including, but not limited to, the number of  certified  employers  then  participating  in  the  program,  unique identifying  information  for  each  certified  employer,  the number of eligible  individuals  employed  by  each  certified  employer,   unique identifying  information  for  each  eligible individual employed by the certified employers,  the  number  of  hours  worked  by  such  eligible individuals,  the  total  dollar  amount  of  claims for credit, and the dollar amount of credit granted to each certified employer.  (f) Certified employer's taxable year.  If  the  certified  employer's taxable year is a calendar year, the employer shall be entitled to claim the  credit  as  shown  on the certificate of tax credit on the calendar year return for which the certificate of tax credit was issued.  If  the certified  employer's  taxable year is a fiscal year, the employer shall be entitled to claim the credit as  shown  on  the  certificate  of  tax credit  on  the return for the fiscal year that includes the last day of the calendar year covered by the certificate of tax credit.  (g) Cross references. For application of the credit  provided  for  in this section, see the following provisions of the tax law:   1. Article 9-A: Section 210-B, subdivision 53.   2. Article 22: Section 606, subsection (jjj).   3. Article 33: Section 1511, subdivision (dd).