Full Text of SB0388 95th General Assembly
SB0388eng 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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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 | 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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| 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 25 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, and one member appointed by the House Minority Leader. | 23 |
| All other members shall be appointed by the Governor as | 24 |
| follows: |
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| (1) A member of the Governor's leadership staff to | 2 |
| serve as co-chairperson of the task force. | 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/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; | 17 |
| (I) organized labor; | 18 |
| (J) a bank; | 19 |
| (K) a credit union; and | 20 |
| (L) an investment services provider. | 21 |
| The Governor shall designate one of the public members to | 22 |
| serve as co-chairperson. In addition, the following officials | 23 |
| shall serve as ex-officio members of the task force: (i) the | 24 |
| State Superintendent of Education or his or her designee; (ii) | 25 |
| the Secretary of Financial and Professional Regulation or his | 26 |
| or her designee; (iii) the Director of Commerce and Economic |
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| Opportunity or his or her designee; (iv) the Secretary of Human | 2 |
| Services or his or her designee; (v) the Director of Healthcare | 3 |
| and Family Services or his or her designee; (vi) the Executive | 4 |
| Director of the Board of Higher Education or his or her | 5 |
| designee; (vii) the Executive Director of the Illinois | 6 |
| Community College Board or his or her designee; and (viii) the | 7 |
| Director of Children and Family Services or his or her | 8 |
| designee. | 9 |
| The Office of the State Treasurer shall be responsible for | 10 |
| administrative and logistical support of the task force, | 11 |
| including coordination of task force member appointments, | 12 |
| distribution of meeting notices and minutes, coordination of | 13 |
| meeting logistics, providing a staff liaison to the task force, | 14 |
| facilitation of public meetings as well as drafting and filing | 15 |
| of the final report. Task force members or the staff liaison, | 16 |
| or both, may confer and collaborate with relevant State and | 17 |
| national organizations with expertise in asset building, | 18 |
| financial education, college savings, investing, home | 19 |
| ownership, and small business development, including the | 20 |
| Illinois Asset Building Group. | 21 |
| Goals of the program shall include increasing the levels of | 22 |
| financial literacy and savings in the State, increasing the | 23 |
| number of Illinois children who own assets and who attend | 24 |
| post-secondary education or training, purchase a home, or open | 25 |
| a small business. The task force shall consider the following | 26 |
| factors in its recommendations for the design of the program: |
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| (1) Return on investment, safety of the investment and | 2 |
| insurance for the account, ease of managing the account, | 3 |
| and ease of making various forms of deposits. | 4 |
| (2) The impact on eligibility for student financial | 5 |
| aid, public assistance, and other public benefits, and | 6 |
| taxation of the account earnings and distributions. | 7 |
| (3) The provision of financial education to child and | 8 |
| family, and access to additional financial services. | 9 |
| (4) Restrictions on the withdrawal or distribution | 10 |
| prior to the child reaching age 18, portability of the | 11 |
| account, and limits on permissible uses of the account. | 12 |
| (5) Revenue sources for the initial deposit and any | 13 |
| savings match for deposits for children in low-income | 14 |
| families. | 15 |
| (6) Mechanisms for data collection and tracking. | 16 |
| (7) All other factors that the task force deems | 17 |
| important to the program design. | 18 |
| The task force shall hold at least 4 public meetings at a | 19 |
| variety of geographic locations throughout the State at times | 20 |
| and places established by the task force. The purpose of the | 21 |
| public meetings is to gather information from community | 22 |
| residents and institutions, families with children, financial | 23 |
| education providers, schools, and local financial services | 24 |
| providers. The initial meeting of the task force shall be | 25 |
| called by the co-chairs and held no later than 30 days after | 26 |
| the task force members are appointed. The activities of the |
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| task force shall conclude no later than September 1, 2008. | 2 |
| Section 20. Report and implementation plan. The task force | 3 |
| shall make a written report of its findings and | 4 |
| recommendations, including a strategic implementation plan for | 5 |
| an Illinois children's savings account program, as well as make | 6 |
| any additional reports deemed necessary and appropriate to the | 7 |
| Office of the State Treasurer no later than September 1, 2008. | 8 |
| On or before November 1, 2008, the Department shall present all | 9 |
| reports issued by the task force to the Governor and members of | 10 |
| the General Assembly. The reports shall be made available to | 11 |
| the public.
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| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 13 |
| becoming law.
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