State Rep. Ben Robbins, R-Sylacauga, has filed a bill that would establish a state income tax credit for recruited workers and remote workers that move to certain counties in Alabama.

Under HB259, remote workers and teachers, nurses, or law enforcement officers who have lived in a county with a population of less than 100,000, or any of Alabama’s opportunity zones, for at least six months of the filing year are eligible to claim up to $30,000 in tax credits, according to its text.

This covers the majority of the state, as less than a quarter of its counties have populations over 100,000, according to the most recent Census.

To be eligible, an individual must have also lived outside of the state for the entire calendar year prior to the first tax year in which a credit is claimed.

“It is the intent of the Legislature to increase the number of employed individuals in certain counties in the state by incentivizing the recruitment and retention of certain job types through tax policy,” the bill states.

The amount of tax credit people would be eligible for each year is divided by the bill into three tiers based on population.

They are:

Tier 1 County- $30,000 tax credit

Any Alabama county that has a population of less than 25,000.

Tier 2 County-$20,000 tax credit

Any Alabama county that has a population of more than 25,000 but less than 50,000.

Tier 3 County-$10,000 tax credit

Any Alabama county that has a population of more than 50,000 but less than 100,000.

Opportunity zone residents who meet all of the bill’s criteria are eligible for a $5,000 tax credit each year, according to its text.

Remote workers must report a taxable income of at least $55,000 a year to qualify under HB259.

And the tax credits are only available for up to three years, the bill states.

If passed, the bill would go into effect on January 1, 2026, for the 2026 tax year, and would last through the 2030 tax year, unless continued by an act of the legislature, according to its text.

HB259 is currently pending action in the House Committee on Ways and Means Education.