ENROLLED
2021 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 99
BY REPRESENTATIVE DAVIS
A RESOLUTION
To memorialize the United States Congress to take such actions as are necessary to pass the
ABLE Age Adjustment Act.
WHEREAS, the Achieving a Better Life Experience Act, also known as the ABLE
Act, was passed by Congress and subsequently signed into law in 2014; and
WHEREAS, the ABLE Act has created tax-advantaged savings accounts known as
"ABLE accounts" for persons with disabilities and has allowed funds to be withdrawn from
the accounts to cover costs of health care, employment support, housing, transportation,
assistive technology, and lifelong education for those persons; and
WHEREAS, ABLE accounts are subject to the same tax treatment as the popular
education savings accounts commonly called "529 plans"; and
WHEREAS, the ABLE Act has created a powerful incentive for individuals and
families to save private funds for the purpose of supporting persons with disabilities in
maintaining health, independence, and quality of life; and
WHEREAS, the ABLE Act, as enacted, stipulates that funds held in an ABLE
account do not count toward any maximum limit on a person's assets upon which eligibility
for a means-tested federal program may be contingent; and
WHEREAS, savings in an ABLE account do not jeopardize a person's eligibility for
programs such as Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income; and
WHEREAS, the asset limits of such programs had previously forced low-income
persons into the difficult decision of whether to spend their limited resources, down to two
thousand dollars in most cases, in order to become eligible for needed assistance; and
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WHEREAS, the ABLE Act, as enacted, includes a fiscal safeguard for states by
providing that if the ABLE account beneficiary dies or his disability ceases and assets
remain in the account, the assets will first be distributed to any state Medicaid plan that
provided assistance to the person; and
WHEREAS, as evidenced by the party affiliations of its seventy-eight original
cosponsors being almost perfectly balanced, the ABLE Act legislation enjoys broad
bipartisan support; and
WHEREAS, the ABLE Act embodies sound economic policy by encouraging
savings and asset building; and
WHEREAS, the ABLE Act promotes important values that our nation holds dear by
providing that every citizen living with a disability has the opportunity to attain
independence and an improved quality of life; and
WHEREAS, prior to its passing, a limitation was added to the ABLE Act, which
limits the benefits to persons who had the onset of disability before the age of twenty-six;
and
WHEREAS, this age limitation has prevented many persons and families from
receiving the many benefits of the ABLE Act; and
WHEREAS, the ABLE Age Adjustment Act has been introduced as S. 331 and H.R.
1219 in the One Hundred Seventeenth United States Congress; and
WHEREAS, the ABLE Age Adjustment Act would make the provisions of the
ABLE Act available to persons who had the onset of disability before the age of forty-six;
and
WHEREAS, if passed, the ABLE Age Adjustment Act would make six million more
persons with disabilities eligible for ABLE accounts; and
WHEREAS, if passed, the ABLE Age Adjustment Act would also help states keep
administrative costs for the state ABLE programs low; and
WHEREAS, as evidenced by the party affiliations of its sixty-five cosponsors, the
ABLE Age Adjustment Act has broad bipartisan support.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
Legislature of Louisiana does hereby memorialize the United States Congress to take such
actions as are necessary to pass the ABLE Age Adjustment Act.
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BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
presiding officers of the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Congress of the
United States of America and to each member of the Louisiana congressional delegation.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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