Full Text of HJR0069 101st General Assembly
HJ0069 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, 529 college savings plans are important tools for | 3 | | Illinois families who want to save for their
children's college | 4 | | education; they offer a diverse range of investment options, | 5 | | tax-deferred growth, and
withdrawals free of state and federal | 6 | | taxes when those withdrawals are used for qualified higher | 7 | | education
expenses such as tuition, fees, books, certain room | 8 | | and board costs, computer equipment, and required
supplies; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, While the first college savings plans were | 10 | | developed by states in 1988 as innovative
programs designed to | 11 | | help families and students save for higher education expenses, | 12 | | it was not until the
enactment of Section 529 of the Internal | 13 | | Revenue Code by Congress in 1996 that college savings plans
| 14 | | began to rapidly gain popularity across the country; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Today, all 50 states and the District of Columbia | 16 | | offer 529 college savings plans; 12.5
million 529 accounts have | 17 | | been opened, more than $253 billion dollars have been saved for | 18 | | future higher
education expenses, and more than one million | 19 | | students nationwide have withdrawn funds from 529
accounts to | 20 | | help pay higher education expenses; and | 21 | | WHEREAS, The Illinois Treasurer currently offers and | 22 | | administers two 529 college savings plans, the Bright Start |
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| 1 | | College Savings Plan and the Bright Directions College Savings | 2 | | Plan; and | 3 | | WHEREAS, In 2018, Moringstar, which independently | 4 | | evaluates and rates college savings plans, selected the Bright | 5 | | Start 529 College Savings Plan as a Gold-Rated 529 and granted | 6 | | the Bright Directions Advisor-Guided 529 College Savings Plan a | 7 | | silver rating, which was the highest rating for all | 8 | | advisor-sold plans; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, 529 college savings plans allow families to save | 10 | | for tuition at two-year and four-year
institutions, including | 11 | | vocational, trade, community, state, or technical schools; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, Illinois residents can claim a state tax deduction | 13 | | on contributions of up to $10,000 a year
($20,000 for married | 14 | | couples filing jointly) to any state plan; and | 15 | | WHEREAS, In 2000, the average tuition rate at an Illinois | 16 | | public university was $4,160, while the average
rate at a | 17 | | private four-year institution was $15,625; in 2018, those rates | 18 | | have skyrocketed to $15,182 for public
universities and $36,747 | 19 | | for private universities; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, Federal financial aid awards have shifted away | 21 | | from student grants and moved to providing access to
guaranteed |
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| 1 | | student loans so that, today, nearly 63 percent of all federal | 2 | | financial aid is in the form of
loans, substantially increasing | 3 | | the number of college graduates who will face the burden of | 4 | | repaying
significant student loan debt upon entering the | 5 | | workforce; and | 6 | | WHEREAS, As of 2018, student loan debt has now reached $1.5 | 7 | | trillion nationally, which rose from
$548 billion in 2007, and | 8 | | more than 1.6 million Illinois residents have student loans | 9 | | totaling more than
$52 billion; and | 10 | | WHEREAS, When Illinoisans are burdened with student loan | 11 | | debt, they are not able to buy homes, cars,
and other products | 12 | | that boost our economy; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, College savings plans, such as Bright Start and | 14 | | Bright Directions, help
families limit or eliminate future | 15 | | student loan debt by helping them save for future higher | 16 | | education
expenses; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, The contributions families make today pay off in | 18 | | the form of an increased earning potential
for their children | 19 | | in the future, with a college graduate earning an average of $1 | 20 | | million more than a high
school graduate during his or her | 21 | | career, according to the United States Census Bureau; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, May 29th is recognized nationally as 529 College | 2 | | Savings Day to help raise awareness
across the country of the | 3 | | importance of saving for college with the help of 529 college | 4 | | savings plans; therefore, be it
| 5 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 6 | | HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE | 7 | | SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we declare May 29, 2019 as 529 | 8 | | College Savings Day in the State of Illinois; and be it further | 9 | | RESOLVED, That we urge all Illinoisans to explore the | 10 | | benefits that 529 college savings plans offer
families; and be | 11 | | it further
| 12 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 13 | | delivered to the Governor of Illinois, the
Director of the | 14 | | Illinois Student Assistance Commission, the Treasurer of | 15 | | Illinois, the Director of the Community College Board, and the
| 16 | | Director of the Board of Higher Education.
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