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INTRODUCED
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HOUSE COMMITTEE
SUBSTITUTE
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SECTION 1. Subchapter A,
Chapter 28, Education Code, is amended by adding Section 28.0024 to read as
follows:
Sec. 28.0024.
SCHOOL-BASED SAVINGS PROGRAM. (a) A school district or open-enrollment
charter school may establish a school-based savings program to facilitate
increased awareness of the importance of saving for higher education and
facilitate personal financial literacy instruction. A district or school
may offer the program in conjunction with a personal financial literacy
course under Section 28.0021.
(b) A school-based
savings program may, through partnerships with financial institutions, as defined by Section 201.101, Finance
Code, promote:
(1) general savings, by
offering savings accounts or certificates of deposit through partner
financial institutions; or
(2) savings dedicated for
higher education, by offering accounts
through partner financial
institutions that are dedicated exclusively
to paying expenses associated with higher education, including:
(A) an account authorized
under Section 529, Internal Revenue Code of 1986;
(B) a Coverdell education
savings account established under 26 U.S.C. Section 530;
(C) a certificate of
deposit;
(D) a savings account;
and
(E) a Roth IRA.
(c) A district or school
establishing a program under this section shall
seek to establish partnerships with financial
institutions, public sector partners, private businesses, nonprofit
organizations, or philanthropic
organizations in the community.
A partnership between a
district or school and:
(1) a financial institution may allow a
student in the program or another adult
in the student's family to have an opportunity to establish an account
described under Subsection (b); and
(2) a financial institution, public sector
partner, private business, or nonprofit or philanthropic organization may
provide:
(A) a structure for the
management of the program; and
(B) incentives that
encourage contribution to a school-based account under Subsection (b),
including incentives that provide matching funds or seed funding.
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SECTION 1. Subchapter A,
Chapter 28, Education Code, is amended by adding Section 28.0024 to read as
follows:
Sec. 28.0024.
SCHOOL-BASED SAVINGS PROGRAM. (a) A school district or open-enrollment
charter school may establish a school-based savings program to facilitate
increased awareness of the importance of saving for higher education and
facilitate personal financial literacy instruction. A district or school
may offer the program in conjunction with a personal financial literacy
course under Section 28.0021.
(b) A school-based
savings program may, through partnerships with appropriate institutions,
promote:
(1) general savings, by
offering savings accounts or certificates of deposit through partner
financial institutions; or
(2) savings dedicated for
higher education, by offering through partner institutions the following accounts or bonds the primary
purpose of which must be to pay expenses associated with higher
education:
(A) an account authorized
under Section 529, Internal Revenue Code of 1986;
(B) a Coverdell education
savings account established under 26 U.S.C. Section 530;
(C) a certificate of
deposit;
(D) a savings account;
and
(E) a Series I savings bond.
(c) A district or school
establishing a program under this section:
(1) shall seek to
establish partnerships with appropriate
institutions that are able to offer an
account or bond under Subsection (b); and
(2) may seek to establish partnerships with public sector
partners, private businesses, nonprofit organizations, and philanthropic organizations in the
community.
(d) A partnership established under Subsection (c) between a
district or school and:
(1) an appropriate institution may allow a
student in the program or the student and
an adult in the student's family jointly
to have an opportunity to establish an account or purchase a bond under Subsection (b); and
(2) an appropriate institution, public sector
partner, private business, or nonprofit or philanthropic organization may
provide:
(A) a structure for the
management of the program; and
(B) incentives that
encourage contribution to a school-based account or purchase of a bond under Subsection (b), including incentives
that provide matching funds or seed funding.
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SECTION 2. Section 56.007,
Education Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 56.007. EXCLUSION OF
ASSETS IN PREPAID TUITION PROGRAMS AND HIGHER EDUCATION SAVINGS PLANS.
Notwithstanding any other law, the right of a person to assets held in or
the right to receive payments or benefits under any fund, school-based
account, or plan established under Section 28.0024(b)(2) up to the amount of the highest cost of
undergraduate resident tuition and required fees for a 30-semester hour
academic year at a Texas public college or university or
Subchapter G, H, or I, Chapter 54, including an interest in a savings trust
account, prepaid tuition account, or related matching account, may not be
considered an asset of the person, or otherwise included in the person's
household income or other financial resources, for purposes of determining
the person's eligibility for a TEXAS grant or any other state-funded
student financial assistance.
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SECTION 2. Section 56.007, Education
Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 56.007. EXCLUSION OF
ASSETS IN PREPAID TUITION PROGRAMS AND HIGHER EDUCATION SAVINGS PLANS. (a)
Notwithstanding any other law, the right of a person to assets held in or
the right to receive payments or benefits under any fund or plan
established under Subchapter G, H, or I, Chapter 54, including an interest
in a savings trust account, prepaid tuition account, or related matching
account, or any school-based account or
bond described by Section 28.0024(b)(2), may not be considered
an asset of the person, or otherwise included in the person's household
income or other financial resources, for purposes of determining the
person's eligibility for a TEXAS grant or any other state-funded student
financial assistance.
(b) The amount of exclusion under Subsection (a) of assets held in
or the right to receive payments or benefits under a school-based account
or bond described by Section 28.0024(b)(2), except a fund or plan
established under Subchapter G, H, or I, Chapter 54, as a school-based
account, is limited to the amount of the cost of undergraduate resident
tuition and required fees for one academic year consisting of 30 semester
credit hours charged by the general academic teaching institution with the highest
such tuition and fee costs for the most recent academic year, as determined
by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board under Section 54.753.
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SECTION 3. Section 31.0039,
Human Resources Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 31.0039. EXCLUSION OF
ASSETS IN PREPAID TUITION PROGRAMS AND HIGHER EDUCATION SAVINGS PLANS. For
purposes of determining the amount of financial assistance granted to an
individual under this chapter for the support of dependent children or
determining whether the family meets household income and resource
requirements for financial assistance under this chapter, the department
may not consider the right to assets held in or the right to receive
payments or benefits under:
(1) any fund, school-based
account, or plan established under Section 28.0024(b)(2), Education
Code, up to the amount of the highest cost
of undergraduate resident tuition and required fees for a 30-semester hour
academic year at a Texas public college or university. or
Subchapter G, H, or I, Chapter 54, Education Code, including an interest in
a savings trust account, prepaid tuition contract, or related matching
account; or
(2) any qualified tuition
program of any state that meets the requirements of Section 529, Internal
Revenue Code of 1986.
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SECTION 3. Section 31.0039,
Human Resources Code, as amended by S.B. No. 219, Acts of the 84th
Legislature, Regular Session, 2015, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 31.0039. EXCLUSION OF
ASSETS IN PREPAID TUITION PROGRAMS AND HIGHER EDUCATION SAVINGS PLANS. (a)
For purposes of determining the amount of financial assistance granted to
an individual under this chapter for the support of dependent children or
determining whether the family meets household income and resource
requirements for financial assistance under this chapter, the commission
may not consider the right to assets held in or the right to receive
payments or benefits under:
(1) any fund or plan
established under Subchapter G, H, or I, Chapter 54, Education Code,
including an interest in a savings trust account, prepaid tuition contract,
or related matching account; [or]
(2) any qualified tuition
program of any state that meets the requirements of Section 529, Internal
Revenue Code of 1986; or
(3) any school-based
account or bond described by Section
28.0024(b)(2), Education Code.
(b) The amount of exclusion under Subsection (a)(3) of assets held
in or the right to receive payments or benefits under a school-based
account or bond described by Section 28.0024(b)(2)(C), (D), or (E), Education
Code, is limited to the amount of the cost of undergraduate resident
tuition and required fees for one academic year consisting of 30 semester
credit hours charged by the general academic teaching institution with the
highest such tuition and fee costs for the most recent academic year, as
determined by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board under Section
54.753, Education Code.
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No
equivalent provision.
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SECTION 4. Section 32.02611,
Human Resources Code, as amended by S.B. No. 219, Acts of the 84th
Legislature, Regular Session, 2015, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 32.02611. EXCLUSION OF
ASSETS IN PREPAID TUITION PROGRAMS AND HIGHER EDUCATION SAVINGS PLANS.
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), in determining eligibility and
need for medical assistance, the commission may not consider as assets or
resources, to the extent applicable under federal law, a right to assets
held in or a right to receive payments or benefits under:
(1) any fund or plan
established under Subchapter G, H, or I, Chapter 54, Education Code,
including an interest in a savings trust account, prepaid tuition contract,
or related matching account; [or]
(2) any qualified tuition
program of any state that meets the requirements of Section 529, Internal
Revenue Code of 1986; or
(3) any school-based
account or bond described by Section 28.0024(b)(2), Education Code.
(a-1) The amount of
exclusion under Subsection (a)(3) of assets held in or the right to receive
payments or benefits under a school-based account or bond described by
Section 28.0024(b)(2)(C), (D), or (E), Education Code, is limited to the
amount of the cost of undergraduate resident tuition and required fees for
one academic year consisting of 30 semester credit hours charged by the
general academic teaching institution with the highest such tuition and fee
costs for the most recent academic year, as determined by the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board under Section 54.753, Education Code.
(b) In determining
eligibility and need for medical assistance for an applicant who may be
eligible on the basis of the applicant's eligibility for medical assistance
for the aged, blind, or disabled under 42 U.S.C. Section 1396a(a)(10), the
commission may consider as assets or resources, to the extent applicable
under federal law, a right to assets held in or a right to receive payments
or benefits under any fund, account, bond, plan, or tuition program
described by Subsection (a).
(c) Notwithstanding
Subsection (b), the commission shall seek a federal waiver authorizing the
commission to exclude, for purposes of determining the eligibility of an
applicant described by that subsection and to the extent included under
federal law, the right to assets held in or a right to receive payments or
benefits under any fund, account, bond, plan, or tuition program
described by Subsection (a) if the fund, account, bond, plan, or
tuition program was established before the 21st birthday of the beneficiary
of the fund, account, bond, plan, or tuition program.
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SECTION 4. Subchapter A,
Chapter 33, Human Resources Code, is amended by adding Section 33.0291 to
read as follows:
Sec. 33.0291. EXCLUSION
OF SCHOOL-BASED ACCOUNTS.
For purposes of
determining whether a person meets family income and resource requirements
for eligibility for the supplemental nutrition assistance program, the
commission may not consider as income or resources a right to assets held
in or a right to receive payments or benefits under a school-based account established
under Section 28.0024(b)(2), Education Code
up to the amount of the highest cost of undergraduate resident
tuition and required fees for a 30-semester hour academic year at a Texas
public college or university.
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SECTION 5. Subchapter A,
Chapter 33, Human Resources Code, is amended by adding Section 33.0291 to
read as follows:
Sec. 33.0291. EXCLUSION
OF SCHOOL-BASED ACCOUNTS AND CERTAIN BONDS. (a) For purposes of
determining whether a person meets family income and resource requirements
for eligibility for the supplemental nutrition assistance program, the
commission may not consider as income or resources a right to assets held
in or a right to receive payments or benefits under a school-based account or bond described by Section
28.0024(b)(2), Education Code.
(b) The amount of exclusion under Subsection (a) of assets held in
or the right to receive payments or benefits under a school-based account
or bond described by Section 28.0024(b)(2)(C), (D), or (E), Education Code,
is limited to the amount of the cost of undergraduate resident tuition and
required fees for one academic year consisting of 30 semester credit hours
charged by the general academic teaching institution with the highest such
tuition and fee costs for the most recent academic year, as determined by
the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board under Section 54.753,
Education Code.
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SECTION 5. If before
implementing any provision of this Act a state agency determines that a
waiver or authorization from a federal agency is necessary for
implementation of that provision, the agency affected by the provision
shall request the waiver or authorization and may delay implementing that
provision until the waiver or authorization is granted.
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SECTION 6. Same as introduced
version.
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SECTION 6. This Act takes
effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members
elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas
Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for
immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
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SECTION 7. Same as introduced
version.
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