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Senate Bill 1760 |
Senate Author: Watson et al. |
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Effective: Vetoed |
House Sponsor: Branch |
Senate Bill 1760 repeals an Education Code provision that required the Prepaid Higher Education Tuition Board to establish a Texas Save and Match Program and replaces that program with a new Texas Save and Match Program under which the board opens a matching account for each eligible beneficiary and matches money paid under a prepaid tuition contract under either the Prepaid Higher Education Tuition Program or the Texas Tomorrow Fund II or money contributed to a savings trust account under the Higher Education Savings Plan with matching contributions or a matching purchase of tuition units, as applicable, using money appropriated by the legislature for the program and any contributions made by any person to the beneficiary's matching account. The bill entitles the program to participate in a state employee charitable campaign as if it were an eligible charitable organization.
Senate Bill 1760 sets forth residency, age, and household income criteria for determining a beneficiary's initial program eligibility; limits a beneficiary's participation in the program to not more than five calendar years, which may be either consecutive or nonconsecutive; and requires a minimum $100 payment under a prepaid tuition contract or contribution to the beneficiary's savings trust account per year for a participating beneficiary to receive a matching grant or a purchase of matching tuition units to the beneficiary's matching account for that year. Contributions or purchases greater than $500 are not eligible for a match. The bill also sets out limitations on the authorized uses of a matching account withdrawal and on institutions authorized to redeem tuition units in a matching account.
Senate Bill 1760 requires the board to develop a variable formula based on adjusted annual household income to determine the annual amount of matching funds or matching purchases of tuition units to which beneficiaries are entitled, sets forth match ratio guidelines for the board to use in matching contributions or purchases, and establishes provisions for the administration of a matching account. The bill also authorizes the board to establish pilot projects under the program to promote participation in the Prepaid Higher Education Tuition Program, the Higher Education Savings Program, and the Prepaid Tuition Unit Undergraduate Education Program, including projects that award additional matching grants based on a beneficiary's achievement of specified academic goals, offer additional seed matching grants on the opening of a savings trust account or the purchase of a prepaid tuition contract, and provide incentives for employers to contribute matching funds to the program.
Senate Bill 1760 amends the Health and Safety Code and the Human Resources Code to prohibit the Health and Human Services Commission--for purposes of determining whether a child or other individual meets family or house income and resource requirements as a condition of eligibility for participation in certain financial or medical assistance programs or determining the amount of financial assistance provided--from considering as income, assets, or resources a right to assets held in, or a right to receive payments or benefits under, any fund or plan established under the Prepaid Higher Education Tuition Program, the Higher Education Savings Plan, the Texas Tomorrow Fund II, or the Texas Save and Match Program.
Reason Given for Veto: "Senate Bill No. 1760 would require the Texas Prepaid Higher Education Tuition Board to develop and implement the Texas Save and Match Program to assist qualifying beneficiaries who open a higher education savings plan (529 Plan) or purchase a prepaid tuition contract (Texas Tuition Promise Fund).
"During the 80th Legislative Session, the Prepaid Higher Education Tuition Board was authorized to establish a Save and Match Program as part of the Texas Tuition Promise Fund. Earlier this year, the comptroller’s office established a 501(c)(3) foundation to receive tax-deductible donations for the program based on the enabling legislation.
"While I fully support this program, the legislation has an inadvertent drafting error that would no longer allow individuals to make tax-deductible donations to the foundation. My office will continue to work with the comptroller over the interim to draft new legislation to be considered by the 82nd Legislature."