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1 | AN ACT concerning children.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the | ||||||
5 | Illinois Children's Savings Accounts Act. | ||||||
6 | Section 5. Findings. The General Assembly finds that | ||||||
7 | investments in children's education, homeownership, and small | ||||||
8 | business development and entrepreneurship are made possible by | ||||||
9 | family savings, but the family savings rate is at the lowest | ||||||
10 | level since the Great Depression. Illinois has the lowest | ||||||
11 | homeownership rate in the Midwest. Fewer than a third of | ||||||
12 | Illinois households have a checking account, and fewer than 60% | ||||||
13 | have a savings account. The rising cost of post-secondary | ||||||
14 | education decreases access to higher education for low-income | ||||||
15 | and moderate-income Illinoisans, and post-secondary education | ||||||
16 | is beyond the reach of many Illinois families. Increasing the | ||||||
17 | number of Illinois families saving for post-secondary | ||||||
18 | education for their children will increase the number of | ||||||
19 | children who will attain higher education, and increased | ||||||
20 | educational attainment levels will generate a more competitive | ||||||
21 | workforce, more jobs and innovation, more savings and | ||||||
22 | investment, stronger communities, and a thriving State | ||||||
23 | economy. The General Assembly also finds that a savings program |
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1 | tied to financial education can improve family financial | ||||||
2 | responsibility and encourage saving for education, | ||||||
3 | homeownership, small business, and entrepreneurship. | ||||||
4 | Section 10. Public policy. It is the policy of the State to | ||||||
5 | encourage families' savings, to increase families' financial | ||||||
6 | knowledge, to promote higher educational aspiration and | ||||||
7 | attainment, to encourage home ownership, to assist small | ||||||
8 | business development, to promote job creation, to strengthen | ||||||
9 | communities, and to increase asset building opportunities for | ||||||
10 | all residents. | ||||||
11 | Section 15. Children's Savings Account Task Force. There is | ||||||
12 | hereby created a Children's Savings Account Task Force. The | ||||||
13 | purpose of the task force shall be to review and make | ||||||
14 | recommendations about children's savings account program | ||||||
15 | options and to create a strategic implementation plan to create | ||||||
16 | a savings account at birth for every child born in Illinois to | ||||||
17 | Illinois residents. The task force shall consist of a maximum | ||||||
18 | of 30 members, to be appointed within 60 days after the | ||||||
19 | effective date of this Act. One member shall be appointed by | ||||||
20 | the President of the Senate, one member appointed by the Senate | ||||||
21 | Minority Leader, one member appointed by the Speaker of the | ||||||
22 | House, one member appointed by the House Minority Leader, and | ||||||
23 | one member representing the Office of the State Treasurer | ||||||
24 | appointed by the State Treasurer. All other members shall be |
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1 | appointed by the Governor as follows: | ||||||
2 | (1) A member of the Governor's leadership staff. | ||||||
3 | (2) Public members with an interest in asset building | ||||||
4 | in Illinois, including a representative from each of the | ||||||
5 | following types of organizations or entities: | ||||||
6 | (A) an operator of an individual development | ||||||
7 | account or matched savings and financial education | ||||||
8 | program, or both; | ||||||
9 | (B) a grassroots organizing entity; | ||||||
10 | (C) a poverty law center; | ||||||
11 | (D) a service-based human rights provider | ||||||
12 | organization; | ||||||
13 | (E) a business association; | ||||||
14 | (F) a bankers' professional association; | ||||||
15 | (G) a child advocacy organization; | ||||||
16 | (H) a rural economic development entity;
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17 | (I) organized labor; | ||||||
18 | (J) a bank; | ||||||
19 | (K) a credit union; and | ||||||
20 | (L) an investment services provider. | ||||||
21 | In addition, the following officials shall serve as | ||||||
22 | ex-officio members of the task force: (i) the State Treasurer | ||||||
23 | or his or her designee; (ii) the State Superintendent of | ||||||
24 | Education or his or her designee; (iii) the Secretary of | ||||||
25 | Financial and Professional Regulation or his or her designee; | ||||||
26 | (iv) the Director of Commerce and Economic Opportunity or his |
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1 | or her designee; (v) the Secretary of Human Services or his or | ||||||
2 | her designee; (vi) the Director of Healthcare and Family | ||||||
3 | Services or his or her designee; (vii) the Executive Director | ||||||
4 | of the Board of Higher Education or his or her designee; (viii) | ||||||
5 | the Executive Director of the Illinois Community College Board | ||||||
6 | or his or her designee; and (ix) the Director of Children and | ||||||
7 | Family Services or his or her designee. Representatives of the | ||||||
8 | Office of the Governor and the Office of the State Treasurer | ||||||
9 | shall serve as co-chairpersons of the task force. The Governor | ||||||
10 | shall designate one of the public members to serve as a third | ||||||
11 | co-chairperson.
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12 | The Office of the State Treasurer shall be responsible for | ||||||
13 | administrative and logistical support of the task force, | ||||||
14 | including coordination of task force member appointments, | ||||||
15 | distribution of meeting notices and minutes, coordination of | ||||||
16 | meeting logistics, providing a staff liaison to the task force, | ||||||
17 | facilitation of public meetings, and drafting and filing of the | ||||||
18 | final report. Task force members, or the staff liaison, or both | ||||||
19 | may confer and collaborate with relevant State and national | ||||||
20 | organizations with expertise in asset building, financial | ||||||
21 | education, college savings, investing, home ownership, and | ||||||
22 | small business development, including the Illinois Asset | ||||||
23 | Building Group. | ||||||
24 | Goals of the program shall include increasing the levels of | ||||||
25 | financial literacy and savings in the State, increasing the | ||||||
26 | number of children in Illinois who own assets and who attend |
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1 | post-secondary education or training, purchase a home, or open | ||||||
2 | a small business. The task force shall consider the following | ||||||
3 | factors in its recommendations for the design of the program: | ||||||
4 | (1) return on investment, safety of the investment and | ||||||
5 | insurance for the account, ease of managing the account, | ||||||
6 | and ease of making various forms of deposits; | ||||||
7 | (2) the impact on eligibility for student financial | ||||||
8 | aid, public assistance, and other public benefits, and | ||||||
9 | taxation of the account earnings and distributions; | ||||||
10 | (3) the provision of financial education to children | ||||||
11 | and families, and access to additional financial services; | ||||||
12 | (4) restrictions on the withdrawal or distribution | ||||||
13 | prior to the child reaching age 18, portability of the | ||||||
14 | account, and limits on permissible uses of the account; | ||||||
15 | (5) revenue sources for the initial deposit and any | ||||||
16 | savings match for deposits for children in low-income | ||||||
17 | families; | ||||||
18 | (6) mechanisms for data collection and tracking; and | ||||||
19 | (7) all other factors that the task force deems | ||||||
20 | important to the program design. | ||||||
21 | The task force shall hold at least 4 public meetings at a | ||||||
22 | variety of geographic locations throughout the State at times | ||||||
23 | and places established by the task force. The purpose of the | ||||||
24 | public meetings is to gather information from community | ||||||
25 | residents and institutions, families with children, financial | ||||||
26 | education providers, schools, and local financial services |
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1 | providers. The initial meeting of the task force shall be | ||||||
2 | called by the co-chairs and held no later than 30 days after | ||||||
3 | the task force members are appointed. The activities of the | ||||||
4 | task force shall conclude no later than September 1, 2008.
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5 | Section 20. Report and implementation plan. The task force | ||||||
6 | shall make a written report of its findings and | ||||||
7 | recommendations, including a strategic implementation plan for | ||||||
8 | an Illinois children's savings account program, as well as make | ||||||
9 | any additional reports deemed necessary and appropriate to the | ||||||
10 | Office of the State Treasurer no later than September 1, 2008. | ||||||
11 | On or before November 1, 2008, the Office of the State | ||||||
12 | Treasurer shall present all reports issued by the task force to | ||||||
13 | the Governor and members of the General Assembly. The reports | ||||||
14 | shall be made available to the public.
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15 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
16 | becoming law.
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