Bill Amendment: IL HB4872 | 2025-2026 | 104th General Assembly
NOTE: For additional amemendments please see the Bill Drafting List
Bill Title: SAVINGS POOL-DISABILITIES
Status: 2026-04-17 - Rule 19(a) / Re-referred to Rules Committee [HB4872 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2025-HB4872-House_Amendment_001.html
Bill Title: SAVINGS POOL-DISABILITIES
Status: 2026-04-17 - Rule 19(a) / Re-referred to Rules Committee [HB4872 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2025-HB4872-House_Amendment_001.html
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| 1 | AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 4872 | ||||||
| 2 | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 4872 by replacing | ||||||
| 3 | everything after the enacting clause with the following: | ||||||
| 4 | "Section 5. The State Treasurer Act is amended by changing | ||||||
| 5 | Section 16.5 as follows: | ||||||
| 6 | (15 ILCS 505/16.5) | ||||||
| 7 | Sec. 16.5. College Savings Pool. | ||||||
| 8 | (a) Definitions. As used in this Section: | ||||||
| 9 | "Account owner" means any person or entity who has opened | ||||||
| 10 | an account or to whom ownership of an account has been | ||||||
| 11 | transferred, as allowed by the Internal Revenue Code, and who | ||||||
| 12 | has authority to withdraw funds, direct withdrawal of funds, | ||||||
| 13 | change the designated beneficiary, or otherwise exercise | ||||||
| 14 | control over an account in the College Savings Pool. | ||||||
| 15 | "Donor" means any person or entity who makes contributions | ||||||
| 16 | to an account in the College Savings Pool. | ||||||
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| 1 | "Designated beneficiary" means any individual designated | ||||||
| 2 | as the beneficiary of an account in the College Savings Pool by | ||||||
| 3 | an account owner. A designated beneficiary must have a valid | ||||||
| 4 | social security number or taxpayer identification number. In | ||||||
| 5 | the case of an account established as part of a scholarship | ||||||
| 6 | program permitted under Section 529 of the Internal Revenue | ||||||
| 7 | Code, the designated beneficiary is any individual receiving | ||||||
| 8 | benefits accumulated in the account as a scholarship. | ||||||
| 9 | "Eligible educational institution" means public and | ||||||
| 10 | private colleges, junior colleges, graduate schools, and | ||||||
| 11 | certain vocational institutions that are described in Section | ||||||
| 12 | 1001 of the Higher Education Resource and Student Assistance | ||||||
| 13 | Chapter of Title 20 of the United States Code (20 U.S.C. 1001) | ||||||
| 14 | and that are eligible to participate in Department of | ||||||
| 15 | Education student aid programs. "Eligible educational | ||||||
| 16 | institution" includes specialized, structured, and | ||||||
| 17 | individualized educational or therapy programs for the | ||||||
| 18 | intervention and treatment of a specific learning disability | ||||||
| 19 | for students who are 5 years of age or older. | ||||||
| 20 | "Member of the family" has the same meaning ascribed to | ||||||
| 21 | that term under Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code. | ||||||
| 22 | "Nonqualified withdrawal" means a distribution from an | ||||||
| 23 | account other than a distribution that (i) is used for the | ||||||
| 24 | qualified expenses of the designated beneficiary; (ii) results | ||||||
| 25 | from the beneficiary's death or disability; (iii) is a | ||||||
| 26 | rollover to another account in the College Savings Pool; (iv) | ||||||
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| 1 | is a rollover to an Illinois ABLE account, as defined in | ||||||
| 2 | Section 16.6 of this Act, or any distribution that, within 60 | ||||||
| 3 | days after such distribution, is transferred to an Illinois | ||||||
| 4 | ABLE account of the designated beneficiary or a member of the | ||||||
| 5 | family of the designated beneficiary to the extent that the | ||||||
| 6 | distribution, when added to all other contributions made to | ||||||
| 7 | the Illinois ABLE account for the taxable year, does not | ||||||
| 8 | exceed the limitation under Section 529A(b) of the Internal | ||||||
| 9 | Revenue Code; or (v) is a rollover to a Roth IRA account to the | ||||||
| 10 | extent permitted by Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code. | ||||||
| 11 | "Qualified expenses" means: (i) tuition, fees, and the | ||||||
| 12 | costs of books, supplies, and equipment required for | ||||||
| 13 | enrollment or attendance at an eligible educational | ||||||
| 14 | institution; (ii) expenses for special needs services, in the | ||||||
| 15 | case of a special needs beneficiary, which are incurred in | ||||||
| 16 | connection with such enrollment or attendance, including | ||||||
| 17 | expenses incurred for the intervention and treatment of a | ||||||
| 18 | specific learning disability for students who are 5 years of | ||||||
| 19 | age or older; (iii) certain expenses, to the extent they | ||||||
| 20 | qualify as qualified higher education expenses under Section | ||||||
| 21 | 529 of the Internal Revenue Code, for the purchase of computer | ||||||
| 22 | or peripheral equipment or Internet access and related | ||||||
| 23 | services, if such equipment, software, or services are to be | ||||||
| 24 | used primarily by the beneficiary during any of the years the | ||||||
| 25 | beneficiary is enrolled at an eligible educational | ||||||
| 26 | institution, except that, such expenses shall not include | ||||||
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| 1 | expenses for computer software designed for sports, games, or | ||||||
| 2 | hobbies, unless the software is predominantly educational in | ||||||
| 3 | nature; (iv) room and board expenses incurred while attending | ||||||
| 4 | an eligible educational institution at least half-time; (v) | ||||||
| 5 | expenses for fees, books, supplies, and equipment required for | ||||||
| 6 | the participation of a designated beneficiary in an | ||||||
| 7 | apprenticeship program registered and certified with the | ||||||
| 8 | Secretary of Labor under the National Apprenticeship Act (29 | ||||||
| 9 | U.S.C. 50); and (vi) amounts paid as principal or interest on | ||||||
| 10 | any qualified education loan of the designated beneficiary or | ||||||
| 11 | a sibling of the designated beneficiary, as allowed under | ||||||
| 12 | Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code. A student shall be | ||||||
| 13 | considered to be enrolled at least half-time if the student is | ||||||
| 14 | enrolled for at least half the full-time academic workload for | ||||||
| 15 | the course of study the student is pursuing as determined | ||||||
| 16 | under the standards of the institution at which the student is | ||||||
| 17 | enrolled. | ||||||
| 18 | "Specific learning disability" has the meaning given in | ||||||
| 19 | item (30) of Section 602 of the Individuals with Disabilities | ||||||
| 20 | Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1401(30)). | ||||||
| 21 | (b) Establishment of the Pool. The State Treasurer may | ||||||
| 22 | establish and administer the College Savings Pool as a | ||||||
| 23 | qualified tuition program under Section 529 of the Internal | ||||||
| 24 | Revenue Code. The Pool may consist of one or more college | ||||||
| 25 | savings programs. The State Treasurer, in administering the | ||||||
| 26 | College Savings Pool, may: (1) receive, hold, and invest | ||||||
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| 1 | moneys paid into the Pool; and (2) perform any other action he | ||||||
| 2 | or she deems necessary to administer the Pool, including any | ||||||
| 3 | other actions necessary to ensure that the Pool operates as a | ||||||
| 4 | qualified tuition program in accordance with Section 529 of | ||||||
| 5 | the Internal Revenue Code. | ||||||
| 6 | (c) Administration of the College Savings Pool. The State | ||||||
| 7 | Treasurer may delegate duties related to the College Savings | ||||||
| 8 | Pool to one or more contractors. The contributions deposited | ||||||
| 9 | in the Pool, and any earnings thereon, shall not constitute | ||||||
| 10 | property of the State or be commingled with State funds and the | ||||||
| 11 | State shall have no claim to or against, or interest in, such | ||||||
| 12 | funds; provided that the fees collected by the State Treasurer | ||||||
| 13 | in accordance with this Act, scholarship programs administered | ||||||
| 14 | by the State Treasurer, and seed funds deposited by the State | ||||||
| 15 | Treasurer under Section 16.8 of the Act are State funds. | ||||||
| 16 | (c-5) College Savings Pool Account Summaries. The State | ||||||
| 17 | Treasurer shall provide a separate accounting for each | ||||||
| 18 | designated beneficiary. The separate accounting shall be | ||||||
| 19 | provided to the account owner of the account for the | ||||||
| 20 | designated beneficiary at least annually and shall show the | ||||||
| 21 | account balance, the investment in the account, the investment | ||||||
| 22 | earnings, and the distributions from the account. | ||||||
| 23 | (d) Availability of the College Savings Pool. The State | ||||||
| 24 | Treasurer may permit persons, including trustees of trusts and | ||||||
| 25 | custodians under a Uniform Transfers to Minors Act or Uniform | ||||||
| 26 | Gifts to Minors Act account, and certain legal entities to be | ||||||
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| 1 | account owners, including as part of a scholarship program, | ||||||
| 2 | provided that: (1) an individual, trustee or custodian must | ||||||
| 3 | have a valid social security number or taxpayer identification | ||||||
| 4 | number, be at least 18 years of age, and have a valid United | ||||||
| 5 | States street address; and (2) a legal entity must have a valid | ||||||
| 6 | taxpayer identification number and a valid United States | ||||||
| 7 | street address. In-state and out-of-state persons, trustees, | ||||||
| 8 | custodians, and legal entities may be account owners and | ||||||
| 9 | donors, and both in-state and out-of-state individuals may be | ||||||
| 10 | designated beneficiaries in the College Savings Pool. | ||||||
| 11 | (e) Fees. Any fees, costs, and expenses, including | ||||||
| 12 | investment fees and expenses and payments to third parties, | ||||||
| 13 | related to the College Savings Pool, shall be paid from the | ||||||
| 14 | assets of the College Savings Pool. The State Treasurer shall | ||||||
| 15 | establish fees to be imposed on accounts to cover such fees, | ||||||
| 16 | costs, and expenses, to the extent not paid directly out of the | ||||||
| 17 | investments of the College Savings Pool, and to maintain an | ||||||
| 18 | adequate reserve fund in line with industry standards for | ||||||
| 19 | government operated funds. The Treasurer must use his or her | ||||||
| 20 | best efforts to keep these fees as low as possible and | ||||||
| 21 | consistent with administration of high quality competitive | ||||||
| 22 | college savings programs. | ||||||
| 23 | (f) Investments in the State. To enhance the safety and | ||||||
| 24 | liquidity of the College Savings Pool, to ensure the | ||||||
| 25 | diversification of the investment portfolio of the College | ||||||
| 26 | Savings Pool, and in an effort to keep investment dollars in | ||||||
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| 1 | the State of Illinois, the State Treasurer may make a | ||||||
| 2 | percentage of each account available for investment in | ||||||
| 3 | participating financial institutions doing business in the | ||||||
| 4 | State. | ||||||
| 5 | (g) Investment policy. The Treasurer shall develop, | ||||||
| 6 | publish, and implement an investment policy covering the | ||||||
| 7 | investment of the moneys in each of the programs in the College | ||||||
| 8 | Savings Pool. The policy shall be published each year as part | ||||||
| 9 | of the audit of the College Savings Pool by the Auditor | ||||||
| 10 | General, which shall be distributed to all account owners in | ||||||
| 11 | such program. The Treasurer shall notify all account owners in | ||||||
| 12 | such program in writing, and the Treasurer shall publish in a | ||||||
| 13 | newspaper of general circulation in both Chicago and | ||||||
| 14 | Springfield, any changes to the previously published | ||||||
| 15 | investment policy at least 30 calendar days before | ||||||
| 16 | implementing the policy. Any investment policy adopted by the | ||||||
| 17 | Treasurer shall be reviewed and updated if necessary within 90 | ||||||
| 18 | days following the date that the State Treasurer takes office. | ||||||
| 19 | (h) Investment restrictions. An account owner may, | ||||||
| 20 | directly or indirectly, direct the investment of his or her | ||||||
| 21 | account only as provided in Section 529(b)(4) of the Internal | ||||||
| 22 | Revenue Code. Donors and designated beneficiaries, in those | ||||||
| 23 | capacities, may not, directly or indirectly, direct the | ||||||
| 24 | investment of an account. | ||||||
| 25 | (i) Distributions. Distributions from an account in the | ||||||
| 26 | College Savings Pool may be used for the designated | ||||||
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| 1 | beneficiary's qualified expenses, and if not used in that | ||||||
| 2 | manner, may be considered a nonqualified withdrawal. Funds | ||||||
| 3 | contained in a College Savings Pool account may be rolled over | ||||||
| 4 | into: | ||||||
| 5 | (1) an eligible Illinois ABLE account, as defined in | ||||||
| 6 | Section 16.6 of this Act to the extent permitted by | ||||||
| 7 | Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code; | ||||||
| 8 | (2) another qualified tuition program, to the extent | ||||||
| 9 | permitted by Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code; or | ||||||
| 10 | (3) a Roth IRA account, to the extent permitted by | ||||||
| 11 | Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code. | ||||||
| 12 | Distributions made from the College Savings Pool may be | ||||||
| 13 | made directly to the eligible educational institution, | ||||||
| 14 | directly to a vendor, in the form of a check payable to both | ||||||
| 15 | the designated beneficiary and the institution or vendor, | ||||||
| 16 | directly to the designated beneficiary or account owner, or in | ||||||
| 17 | any other manner that is permissible under Section 529 of the | ||||||
| 18 | Internal Revenue Code. | ||||||
| 19 | (j) Contributions. Contributions to the College Savings | ||||||
| 20 | Pool shall be as follows: | ||||||
| 21 | (1) Contributions to an account in the College Savings | ||||||
| 22 | Pool may be made only in cash. | ||||||
| 23 | (2) The Treasurer shall limit the contributions that | ||||||
| 24 | may be made to the College Savings Pool on behalf of a | ||||||
| 25 | designated beneficiary, as required under Section 529 of | ||||||
| 26 | the Internal Revenue Code, to prevent contributions for | ||||||
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| 1 | the benefit of a designated beneficiary in excess of those | ||||||
| 2 | necessary to provide for the qualified expenses of the | ||||||
| 3 | designated beneficiary. The Pool shall not permit any | ||||||
| 4 | additional contributions to an account as soon as the sum | ||||||
| 5 | of (i) the aggregate balance in all accounts in the Pool | ||||||
| 6 | for the designated beneficiary and (ii) the aggregate | ||||||
| 7 | contributions in the Illinois Prepaid Tuition Program for | ||||||
| 8 | the designated beneficiary reaches the specified balance | ||||||
| 9 | limit established from time to time by the Treasurer. | ||||||
| 10 | (k) Illinois Student Assistance Commission. The Treasurer | ||||||
| 11 | and the Illinois Student Assistance Commission shall each | ||||||
| 12 | cooperate in providing each other with account information, as | ||||||
| 13 | necessary, to prevent contributions in excess of those | ||||||
| 14 | necessary to provide for the qualified expenses of the | ||||||
| 15 | designated beneficiary, as described in subsection (j). | ||||||
| 16 | The Treasurer shall work with the Illinois Student | ||||||
| 17 | Assistance Commission to coordinate the marketing of the | ||||||
| 18 | College Savings Pool and the Illinois Prepaid Tuition Program | ||||||
| 19 | when considered beneficial by the Treasurer and the Director | ||||||
| 20 | of the Illinois Student Assistance Commission. | ||||||
| 21 | (l) Prohibition; exemption. No interest in the program, or | ||||||
| 22 | any portion thereof, may be used as security for a loan. Moneys | ||||||
| 23 | held in an account invested in the College Savings Pool shall | ||||||
| 24 | be exempt from all claims of the creditors of the account | ||||||
| 25 | owner, donor, or designated beneficiary of that account, | ||||||
| 26 | except for the non-exempt College Savings Pool transfers to or | ||||||
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| 1 | from the account as defined under subsection (j) of Section | ||||||
| 2 | 12-1001 of the Code of Civil Procedure. | ||||||
| 3 | (m) Taxation. The assets of the College Savings Pool and | ||||||
| 4 | its income and operation shall be exempt from all taxation by | ||||||
| 5 | the State of Illinois and any of its subdivisions. The accrued | ||||||
| 6 | earnings on investments in the Pool once disbursed on behalf | ||||||
| 7 | of a designated beneficiary shall be similarly exempt from all | ||||||
| 8 | taxation by the State of Illinois and its subdivisions, so | ||||||
| 9 | long as they are used for qualified expenses. Contributions to | ||||||
| 10 | a College Savings Pool account during the taxable year may be | ||||||
| 11 | deducted from adjusted gross income as provided in Section 203 | ||||||
| 12 | of the Illinois Income Tax Act. The provisions of this | ||||||
| 13 | paragraph are exempt from Section 250 of the Illinois Income | ||||||
| 14 | Tax Act. | ||||||
| 15 | (n) Rules. The Treasurer shall adopt rules he or she | ||||||
| 16 | considers necessary for the efficient administration of the | ||||||
| 17 | College Savings Pool. The rules shall provide whatever | ||||||
| 18 | additional parameters and restrictions are necessary to ensure | ||||||
| 19 | that the College Savings Pool meets all the requirements for a | ||||||
| 20 | qualified tuition program under Section 529 of the Internal | ||||||
| 21 | Revenue Code. | ||||||
| 22 | Notice of any proposed amendments to the rules and | ||||||
| 23 | regulations shall be provided to all account owners prior to | ||||||
| 24 | adoption. | ||||||
| 25 | (o) Bond. The State Treasurer shall give bond with at | ||||||
| 26 | least one surety, payable to and for the benefit of the account | ||||||
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| 1 | owners in the College Savings Pool, in the penal sum of | ||||||
| 2 | $10,000,000, conditioned upon the faithful discharge of his or | ||||||
| 3 | her duties in relation to the College Savings Pool. | ||||||
| 4 | (p) The changes made to subsections (c) and (e) of this | ||||||
| 5 | Section by Public Act 101-26 are intended to be a restatement | ||||||
| 6 | and clarification of existing law. | ||||||
| 7 | (Source: P.A. 103-778, eff. 8-2-24; 104-314, eff. 1-1-26.)". | ||||||
