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HB1662 Engrossed |
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LRB095 09545 MJR 29744 b |
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| AN ACT concerning children.
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| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| represented in the General Assembly:
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| Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the |
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| Illinois Children's Savings Accounts Act. |
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| Section 5. Findings. The General Assembly finds that |
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| investments in children's education, homeownership, and small |
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| business development and entrepreneurship are made possible by |
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| family savings, but the family savings rate is at the lowest |
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| level since the Great Depression. Illinois has the lowest |
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| homeownership rate in the Midwest. Fewer than a third of |
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| Illinois households have a checking account, and fewer than 60% |
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| have a savings account. The rising cost of post-secondary |
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| education decreases access to higher education for low-income |
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| and moderate-income Illinoisans, and post-secondary education |
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| is beyond the reach of many Illinois families. Increasing the |
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| number of Illinois families saving for post-secondary |
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| education for their children will increase the number of |
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| children who will attain higher education, and increased |
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| educational attainment levels will generate a more competitive |
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| workforce, more jobs and innovation, more savings and |
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| investment, stronger communities, and a thriving State |
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| economy. The General Assembly also finds that a savings program |
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LRB095 09545 MJR 29744 b |
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| tied to financial education can improve family financial |
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| responsibility and encourage saving for education, |
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| homeownership, small business, and entrepreneurship. |
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| Section 10. Public policy. It is the policy of the State to |
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| encourage families' savings, to increase families' financial |
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| knowledge, to promote higher educational aspiration and |
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| attainment, to encourage home ownership, to assist small |
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| business development, to promote job creation, to strengthen |
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| communities, and to increase asset building opportunities for |
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| all residents. |
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| Section 15. Children's Savings Account Task Force. There is |
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| hereby created a Children's Savings Account Task Force. The |
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| purpose of the task force shall be to review and make |
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| recommendations about children's savings account program |
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| options and to create a strategic implementation plan to create |
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| a savings account at birth for every child born in Illinois to |
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| Illinois residents. The task force shall consist of a maximum |
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| of 30 members, to be appointed within 60 days after the |
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| effective date of this Act. One member shall be appointed by |
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| the President of the Senate, one member appointed by the Senate |
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| Minority Leader, one member appointed by the Speaker of the |
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| House, one member appointed by the House Minority Leader, and |
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| one member representing the Office of the State Treasurer |
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| appointed by the State Treasurer. All other members shall be |
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LRB095 09545 MJR 29744 b |
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| appointed by the Governor as follows: |
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| (1) A member of the Governor's leadership staff. |
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| (2) Public members with an interest in asset building |
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| in Illinois, including a representative from each of the |
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| following types of organizations or entities: |
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| (A) an operator of an individual development |
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| account or matched savings and financial education |
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| program, or both; |
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| (B) a grassroots organizing entity; |
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| (C) a poverty law center; |
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| (D) a service-based human rights provider |
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| organization; |
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| (E) a business association; |
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| (F) a bankers' professional association; |
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| (G) a child advocacy organization; |
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| (H) a rural economic development entity;
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| (I) organized labor; |
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| (J) a bank; |
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| (K) a credit union; and |
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| (L) an investment services provider. |
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| In addition, the following officials shall serve as |
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| ex-officio members of the task force: (i) the State Treasurer |
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| or his or her designee; (ii) the State Superintendent of |
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| Education or his or her designee; (iii) the Secretary of |
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| Financial and Professional Regulation or his or her designee; |
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| (iv) the Director of Commerce and Economic Opportunity or his |
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| or her designee; (v) the Secretary of Human Services or his or |
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| her designee; (vi) the Director of Healthcare and Family |
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| Services or his or her designee; (vii) the Executive Director |
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| of the Board of Higher Education or his or her designee; (viii) |
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| the Executive Director of the Illinois Community College Board |
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| or his or her designee; and (ix) the Director of Children and |
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| Family Services or his or her designee. Representatives of the |
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| Office of the Governor and the Office of the State Treasurer |
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| shall serve as co-chairpersons of the task force. The Governor |
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| shall designate one of the public members to serve as a third |
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| co-chairperson.
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| The Office of the State Treasurer shall be responsible for |
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| administrative and logistical support of the task force, |
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| including coordination of task force member appointments, |
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| distribution of meeting notices and minutes, coordination of |
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| meeting logistics, providing a staff liaison to the task force, |
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| facilitation of public meetings, and drafting and filing of the |
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| final report. Task force members, or the staff liaison, or both |
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| may confer and collaborate with relevant State and national |
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| organizations with expertise in asset building, financial |
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| education, college savings, investing, home ownership, and |
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| small business development, including the Illinois Asset |
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| Building Group. |
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| Goals of the program shall include increasing the levels of |
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| financial literacy and savings in the State, increasing the |
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| number of children in Illinois who own assets and who attend |
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| post-secondary education or training, purchase a home, or open |
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| a small business. The task force shall consider the following |
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| factors in its recommendations for the design of the program: |
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| (1) return on investment, safety of the investment and |
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| insurance for the account, ease of managing the account, |
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| and ease of making various forms of deposits; |
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| (2) the impact on eligibility for student financial |
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| aid, public assistance, and other public benefits, and |
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| taxation of the account earnings and distributions; |
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| (3) the provision of financial education to children |
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| and families, and access to additional financial services; |
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| (4) restrictions on the withdrawal or distribution |
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| prior to the child reaching age 18, portability of the |
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| account, and limits on permissible uses of the account; |
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| (5) revenue sources for the initial deposit and any |
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| savings match for deposits for children in low-income |
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| families; |
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| (6) mechanisms for data collection and tracking; and |
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| (7) all other factors that the task force deems |
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| important to the program design. |
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| The task force shall hold at least 4 public meetings at a |
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| variety of geographic locations throughout the State at times |
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| and places established by the task force. The purpose of the |
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| public meetings is to gather information from community |
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| residents and institutions, families with children, financial |
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| education providers, schools, and local financial services |
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| providers. The initial meeting of the task force shall be |
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| called by the co-chairs and held no later than 30 days after |
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| the task force members are appointed. The activities of the |
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| task force shall conclude no later than September 1, 2008.
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| Section 20. Report and implementation plan. The task force |
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| shall make a written report of its findings and |
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| recommendations, including a strategic implementation plan for |
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| an Illinois children's savings account program, as well as make |
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| any additional reports deemed necessary and appropriate to the |
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| Office of the State Treasurer no later than September 1, 2008. |
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| On or before November 1, 2008, the Office of the State |
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| Treasurer shall present all reports issued by the task force to |
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| the Governor and members of the General Assembly. The reports |
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| shall be made available to the public.
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| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon |
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| becoming law.
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