ENROLLED
2022 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 94
BY REPRESENTATIVE DUPLESSIS
A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
To urge and request the Department of Children and Family Services and the Louisiana
Department of Health, jointly, to study the feasibility, best structure, and potential
return on investment of a program to provide children born in Louisiana whose birth
was covered or eligible for coverage by Medicaid with a trust that, at maturity, can
be used to fund the child's postsecondary education in this state, the purchase of a
home in this state, or formation of a business in this state; and to report the findings
of the study to the legislature.
WHEREAS, though Louisiana is vastly wealthy in cultural and natural resources,
poverty poses a barrier to too many of our citizens' pursuit of the American dream; and
WHEREAS, a lack of family financial resources can keep children born into less
affluent circumstances from attaining education and economic security; and
WHEREAS, other states, notably Connecticut and Washington, have invested in their
children's futures through initiatives known colloquially as "baby bonds" that provide for
children individual trusts, paid for by the state, which the children can access after they turn
eighteen; and
WHEREAS, beneficiaries of the trust funds provided by baby bonds programs may
utilize monies from their trusts exclusively for education, the purchase of a home, the
formation of a business, or for other asset-building purposes; and
WHEREAS, through a baby bonds program, Louisiana could give children born to
low-income or moderate-income parents the chance to build a bright future for themselves
and for our state; and
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WHEREAS, in giving qualifying individuals a measure of financial stability to help
them achieve their educational, entrepreneurial, or homeownership dreams, the legislature
can improve this state's economy by helping future generations to build financial security;
and
WHEREAS, in his Nobel Lecture on December 11, 1964, Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr. remarked: "There is nothing new about poverty. What is new, however, is that we have
the resources to get rid of it"; and
WHEREAS, these words of Dr. King are true today, and they remind us that if we
are going to solve the vexing problem of poverty, then we must conceive of it and endeavor
to address it in new ways.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
urge and request the Department of Children and Family Services and the Louisiana
Department of Health, jointly, to study the feasibility, best structure, and potential return on
investment of a program to provide children born in Louisiana whose birth was covered or
eligible for coverage by Medicaid with a trust that, at maturity, can be used to fund the
child's postsecondary education in this state, the purchase of a home in this state, or
formation of a business in this state.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that in conducting the study called for in this
Resolution, the Department of Children and Family Services and the Louisiana Department
of Health shall research national best practices in development of programs of this type
along with trends in policies focused on fostering economic stability and asset-building for
people starting at birth.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that in conducting the study called for in this
Resolution, the Department of Children and Family Services and the Louisiana Department
of Health shall engage and obtain guidance, data, and other necessary information from all
of the following agencies:
(1) The Department of the Treasury.
(2) The Department of Education.
(3) The Louisiana Board of Regents.
(4) The State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.
(5) The Department of Economic Development.
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(6) The Louisiana Housing Corporation.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that no later than sixty days prior to the convening
of the 2023 Regular Session, the Department of Children and Family Services and the
Louisiana Department of Health, jointly, shall submit to the elected members of legislature
and to the David R. Poynter Legislative Research Library a report of findings from the study
called for in this Resolution.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
secretary of the Department of Children and Family Services, the secretary of the Louisiana
Department of Health, the state treasurer, the state superintendent of education, the chairman
of the Louisiana Board of Regents, the president of the State Board of Elementary and
Secondary Education, the secretary of the Department of Economic Development, and the
executive director of the Louisiana Housing Corporation.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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