Bill Text: IL SJR0011 | 2021-2022 | 102nd General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Declares May 29, 2021 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: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-07-16 - Pursuant to Senate Rule 3-9(b) / Referred to Assignments [SJR0011 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2021-SJR0011-Introduced.html
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1 | SENATE 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 | ||||||
4 | college education; they offer a diverse range of investment | ||||||
5 | options, tax-deferred growth, and
withdrawals free of state | ||||||
6 | and federal taxes when those withdrawals are used for | ||||||
7 | qualified higher education
expenses such as tuition, fees, | ||||||
8 | books, certain room and board costs, computer equipment, and | ||||||
9 | required
supplies; and
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10 | WHEREAS, While the first college savings plans were | ||||||
11 | developed by states in 1988 as innovative
programs designed to | ||||||
12 | help families and students save for higher education expenses, | ||||||
13 | it was not until the
enactment of Section 529 of the Internal | ||||||
14 | Revenue Code by Congress in 1996 that college savings plans
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15 | began to rapidly gain popularity across the country; and
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16 | WHEREAS, Today, all 50 states and the District of Columbia | ||||||
17 | offer 529 college savings plans; 12.5
million 529 accounts | ||||||
18 | have been opened, more than $253 billion dollars have been | ||||||
19 | saved for future higher
education expenses, and more than one | ||||||
20 | million students nationwide have withdrawn funds from 529
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21 | accounts to help pay higher education expenses; and
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22 | WHEREAS, The Illinois Treasurer currently offers and |
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1 | administers two 529 college savings plans, the Bright Start | ||||||
2 | College Savings Plan and the Bright Directions College Savings | ||||||
3 | Plan; and
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4 | WHEREAS, In 2018, Morningstar, which independently | ||||||
5 | evaluates and rates college savings plans, selected the Bright | ||||||
6 | Start 529 College Savings Plan as a Gold-Rated 529 and granted | ||||||
7 | the Bright Directions Advisor-Guided 529 College Savings Plan | ||||||
8 | a silver rating, which was the highest rating for all | ||||||
9 | advisor-sold plans; and
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10 | WHEREAS, 529 college savings plans allow families to save | ||||||
11 | for tuition at two-year and four-year
institutions, including | ||||||
12 | vocational, trade, community, state, or technical schools; and
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13 | WHEREAS, Illinois residents can claim a state tax | ||||||
14 | deduction on contributions of up to $10,000 a year
($20,000 | ||||||
15 | for married couples filing jointly) to any state plan; and
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16 | WHEREAS, In 2000, the average tuition rate at an Illinois | ||||||
17 | public university was $4,160, while the average
rate at a | ||||||
18 | private four-year institution was $15,625; in 2018, those | ||||||
19 | rates have skyrocketed to $15,182 for public
universities and | ||||||
20 | $36,747 for private universities; and
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21 | WHEREAS, Federal financial aid awards have shifted away |
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1 | from student grants and moved to providing access to
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2 | guaranteed student loans so that, today, nearly 63 percent of | ||||||
3 | all federal financial aid is in the form of
loans, | ||||||
4 | substantially increasing the number of college graduates who | ||||||
5 | will face the burden of repaying
significant student loan debt | ||||||
6 | upon entering the workforce; and
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7 | WHEREAS, As of 2018, student loan debt had reached $1.5 | ||||||
8 | trillion nationally, which rose from
$548 billion in 2007, and | ||||||
9 | more than 1.6 million Illinois residents had student loans | ||||||
10 | totaling more than
$52 billion; and
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11 | WHEREAS, When Illinoisans are burdened with student loan | ||||||
12 | debt, they are not able to buy homes, cars,
and other products | ||||||
13 | that boost our economy; and
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14 | WHEREAS, College savings plans, such as Bright Start and | ||||||
15 | Bright Directions, help
families limit or eliminate future | ||||||
16 | student loan debt by helping them save for future higher | ||||||
17 | education
expenses; and
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18 | WHEREAS, The contributions families make today pay off in | ||||||
19 | the form of an increased earning potential
for their children | ||||||
20 | in the future, with a college graduate earning an average of $1 | ||||||
21 | million more than a high
school graduate during his or her | ||||||
22 | career, according to the United States Census Bureau; and
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1 | WHEREAS, May 29th is recognized nationally as 529 College | ||||||
2 | Savings Day to help raise awareness
across the country of the | ||||||
3 | importance of saving for college with the help of 529 college | ||||||
4 | savings plans; therefore, be it
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5 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL | ||||||
6 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF | ||||||
7 | REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING HEREIN, that we declare May 29, | ||||||
8 | 2021 as 529 College Savings Day in the State of Illinois; and | ||||||
9 | be it further
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10 | RESOLVED, That we urge all Illinoisans to explore the | ||||||
11 | benefits that 529 college savings plans offer
families; and be | ||||||
12 | it further
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13 | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | ||||||
14 | delivered to the Governor of Illinois, the
Director of the | ||||||
15 | Illinois Student Assistance Commission, the Treasurer of | ||||||
16 | Illinois, the Director of the Community College Board, and the
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17 | Director of the Board of Higher Education.
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