Bill Text: IL HJR0041 | 2019-2020 | 101st General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Declares May 29, 2019 as 529 College Savings Day in the State of Illinois and urges all Illinoisans to explore the benefits that 529 college savings plans offer families.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-07-02 - Rule 19(b) / Re-referred to Rules Committee [HJR0041 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2019-HJR0041-Introduced.html
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| 1 | HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, 529 college savings plans are important tools for | ||||||
| 3 | Illinois families who want to save for their
children's college | ||||||
| 4 | education; they offer a diverse range of investment options, | ||||||
| 5 | tax-deferred growth, and
withdrawals free of state and federal | ||||||
| 6 | taxes when those withdrawals are used for qualified higher | ||||||
| 7 | education
expenses such as tuition, fees, books, certain room | ||||||
| 8 | and board costs, computer equipment, and required
supplies; and
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| 9 | WHEREAS, While the first college savings plans were | ||||||
| 10 | developed by states in 1988 as innovative
programs designed to | ||||||
| 11 | help families and students save for higher education expenses, | ||||||
| 12 | it was not until the
enactment of Section 529 of the Internal | ||||||
| 13 | Revenue Code by Congress in 1996 that college savings plans
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| 14 | began to rapidly gain popularity across the country; and
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| 15 | WHEREAS, Today, all 50 states and the District of Columbia | ||||||
| 16 | offer 529 college savings plans; 12.5
million 529 accounts have | ||||||
| 17 | been opened, more than $253 billion dollars have been saved for | ||||||
| 18 | future higher
education expenses, and more than one million | ||||||
| 19 | students nationwide have withdrawn funds from 529
accounts to | ||||||
| 20 | help pay higher education expenses; and
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| 21 | WHEREAS, The State of Illinois currently offers three | ||||||
| 22 | separate savings plans: the "College Illinois! 529
Prepaid | ||||||
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| 1 | Tuition Program", which is administered by the Illinois Student | ||||||
| 2 | Assistance Commission, and
the "Bright Start College Savings | ||||||
| 3 | Plan" and the "Bright Directions College Savings Plan", which | ||||||
| 4 | are
administered by the Illinois Treasurer; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, 529 college savings plans allow families to save | ||||||
| 6 | for tuition at two-year and four-year
institutions, including | ||||||
| 7 | vocational, trade, community, state, or technical schools; and
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| 8 | WHEREAS, Illinois residents can claim a state tax deduction | ||||||
| 9 | on contributions of up to $10,000 a year
($20,000 for married | ||||||
| 10 | couples filing jointly) to any state plan; and
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| 11 | WHEREAS, In 2000, the average tuition rate at an Illinois | ||||||
| 12 | public university was $4,160, while the average
rate at a | ||||||
| 13 | private four-year institution was $15,625; in 2018, those rates | ||||||
| 14 | have skyrocketed to $15,182 for public
universities and $36,747 | ||||||
| 15 | for private universities; and
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| 16 | WHEREAS, Federal financial aid awards have shifted away | ||||||
| 17 | from student grants and moved to providing access to
guaranteed | ||||||
| 18 | student loans so that, today, nearly 63 percent of all federal | ||||||
| 19 | financial aid is in the form of
loans, substantially increasing | ||||||
| 20 | the number of college graduates who will face the burden of | ||||||
| 21 | repaying
significant student loan debt upon entering the | ||||||
| 22 | workforce; and
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| 1 | WHEREAS, As of 2018, student loan debt has now reached $1.5 | ||||||
| 2 | trillion nationally, which rose from
$548 billion in 2007, and | ||||||
| 3 | more than 1.6 million Illinois residents have student loans | ||||||
| 4 | totaling more than
$52 billion; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, When Illinoisans are burdened with student loan | ||||||
| 6 | debt, they are not able to buy homes, cars,
and other products | ||||||
| 7 | that boost our economy; and
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| 8 | WHEREAS, College savings plans, such as CollegeIllinois!, | ||||||
| 9 | Bright Start, and Bright Directions, help
families limit or | ||||||
| 10 | eliminate future student loan debt by helping them save for | ||||||
| 11 | future higher education
expenses; and
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| 12 | WHEREAS, The contributions families make today pay off in | ||||||
| 13 | the form of an increased earning potential
for their children | ||||||
| 14 | in the future, with a college graduate earning an average of $1 | ||||||
| 15 | million more than a high
school graduate during his or her | ||||||
| 16 | career, according to the United States Census Bureau; and
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| 17 | WHEREAS, May 29th is recognized nationally as 529 College | ||||||
| 18 | Savings Day to help raise awareness
across the country of the | ||||||
| 19 | importance of saving for college with the help of 529 college | ||||||
| 20 | savings plans; therefore, be it
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| 1 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
| 2 | HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE | ||||||
| 3 | SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we declare May 29, 2019 as 529 | ||||||
| 4 | College Savings Day
in the State of Illinois; and be it further
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| 5 | RESOLVED, That we urge all Illinoisans to explore the | ||||||
| 6 | benefits that 529 college savings plans offer
families; and be | ||||||
| 7 | it further
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| 8 | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | ||||||
| 9 | delivered to the Governor of Illinois, the
Director of the | ||||||
| 10 | Illinois Student Assistance Commission, the Treasurer of | ||||||
| 11 | Illinois, and the
Director of the Board of Higher Education.
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