110 ILCS 979/30

(110 ILCS 979/30)

Sec. 30. Investment Advisory Panel duties and responsibilities.

(a) Advice and review. The panel shall offer advice and counseling regarding the investments of the Illinois prepaid tuition program with the objective of obtaining the best possible return on investments consistent with actuarial soundness of the program. The panel is required to annually review and advise the Commission on provisions of the strategic investment plan for the prepaid tuition program. The panel is also charged with reviewing and advising the Commission with regard to the annual report that describes the current financial condition of the program. The panel at its own discretion also may advise the Commission on other aspects of the program.

(b) Investment plan. The Commission annually shall adopt a comprehensive investment plan for purposes of this Section. The comprehensive investment plan shall specify the investment policies to be utilized by the Commission in its administration of the Illinois Prepaid Tuition Trust Fund created by Section 35. The Commission may direct that assets of those Funds be placed in savings accounts or may use the same to purchase fixed or variable life insurance or annuity contracts, securities, evidence of indebtedness, or other investment products pursuant to the comprehensive investment plan and in such proportions as may be designated or approved under that plan. The Commission shall invest such assets with the care, skill, prudence, and diligence under the circumstances then prevailing that a prudent man acting in a like capacity and familiar with such matters would use in the conduct of an enterprise of a like character with like aims, and the Commission shall diversify the investments of such assets so as to minimize the risk of large losses, unless under the circumstances it is clearly prudent not to do so. Those insurance, annuity, savings, and investment products shall be underwritten and offered in compliance with applicable federal and State laws, rules, and regulations by persons who are authorized thereunder to provide those services. The Commission shall delegate responsibility for preparing the comprehensive investment plan to the Executive Director of the Commission. Nothing in this Section shall preclude the Commission from contracting with a private corporation or institution to provide such services as may be a part of the comprehensive investment plan or as may be deemed necessary for implementation of the comprehensive investment plan, including, but not limited to, providing consolidated billing, individual and collective record keeping and accounting, and asset purchase, control, and safekeeping.

(b-5) Investment duties. Beginning January 1, 2015, with respect to any investments for which it is responsible under this Section or any other law, the Commission shall be subject to the same requirements as are imposed upon the board of trustees of a retirement system under Sections 1-109.1(5.1), 1-109.1(9), and 1-113.21 of the Illinois Pension Code, to the extent that those requirements are not in direct conflict with any other requirement of law to which the Commission is subject.

(c) Program management. The Commission may not delegate its management functions, but may arrange to compensate for personalized investment advisory services rendered with respect to any or all of the investments under its control an investment advisor registered under Section 8 of the Illinois Securities Law of 1953 or any bank or other entity authorized by law to provide those services. Nothing contained herein shall preclude the Commission from subscribing to general investment research services available for purchase or use by others. The Commission also shall have authority to compensate for accounting, computing, and other necessary services.

(d) Annual report. The Commission shall annually prepare or cause to be prepared a report setting forth in appropriate detail an accounting of all Illinois prepaid tuition program funds and a description of the financial condition of the program at the close of each fiscal year. Included in this report shall be an evaluation by at least one nationally recognized actuary of the financial viability of the program. This report shall be submitted to the Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Auditor General, and the Board of Higher Education on or before March 1 of the subsequent fiscal year. This report also shall be made available to purchasers of Illinois prepaid tuition contracts and shall contain complete Illinois prepaid tuition contract sales information, including, but not limited to, projected postsecondary enrollment data for qualified beneficiaries.

(e) Marketing plan. Selection of a marketing agent for the Illinois prepaid tuition program must be approved by the Commission. At least once every 3 years, the Commission shall solicit proposals for marketing of the Illinois prepaid tuition program in accordance with the Illinois Securities Law of 1953 and any applicable provisions of federal law. The entity designated pursuant to this paragraph shall serve as a centralized marketing agent for the program and shall have exclusive responsibility for marketing the program. No contract for marketing the Illinois prepaid tuition program shall extend for longer than 3 years. Any materials produced for the purpose of marketing the program shall be submitted to the Executive Director of the Commission for approval before they are made public. Any eligible institution may distribute marketing materials produced for the program, so long as the Executive Director of the Commission approves the distribution in advance. Neither the State nor the Commission shall be liable for misrepresentation of the program by a marketing agent.

(f) Accounting and audit. The Commission shall annually cause to be prepared an accounting of the trust and shall transmit a copy of the accounting to the Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House, and the minority leaders of the Senate and House of Representatives. The Commission shall also make available this accounting of the trust to any purchaser of an Illinois prepaid tuition contract, upon request. The accounts of the Illinois prepaid tuition program shall be subject to annual audits by the Auditor General or a certified public accountant appointed by the Auditor General.

(Source: P.A. 98-1022, eff. 1-1-15.)