STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6173 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY February 26, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. SOLAGES, SANTABARBARA, STECK, JACOBSON, WOERNER, SIMON, DeSTEFANO, HYNDMAN, SAYEGH, DiPIETRO, GLICK, LUPARDO, MANKTE- LOW, MILLER, MAGNARELLI, PALMESANO -- read once and referred to the Committee on Higher Education AN ACT to establish a committee to study the feasibility of funding a kindergarten to college/career ready program and a universal college savings account; and providing for the repeal of such provisions upon expiration thereof The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. a. There is hereby established a committee to study the 2 feasibility of creating, structuring, managing, marketing, and funding a 3 kindergarten to college/career (K2C/C) ready program and a universal 4 college savings account, the purpose of which shall be to promote indi- 5 vidual financial literacy among low and moderate income families. 6 b. The members of the committee shall be selected as follows: five 7 members of the New York state assembly, appointed by the speaker of the 8 assembly, one of whom shall be a member of the children and families 9 committee, one of whom shall be a member of the education committee, one 10 of whom shall be a member of the ways and means committee, one of whom 11 shall be a member of the banks committee; and one member of the New York 12 state senate, appointed by the temporary president of the senate. The 13 members of the study committee shall elect a chairperson from among the 14 members. Four members of the committee shall constitute a quorum for 15 voting purposes. 16 c. The committee shall study the feasibility of creating, structuring, 17 managing, marketing, and funding a K2C/C ready program and a universal 18 college savings account and asset building program in New York. The 19 committee shall: EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD10166-01-5A. 6173 2 1 (1) review the structure and success of the K2C ready program in San 2 Francisco and the status of similar programs in Ohio, Nevada, Washing- 3 ton, and elsewhere in the United States; 4 (2) determine the projected population of kindergarten children to be 5 served; 6 (3) establish contacts with New York banks, credit unions, philan- 7 thropic organizations, and other area financial services that may be 8 involved in similar efforts; 9 (4) explore marketing protocols used in San Francisco and other 10 states; 11 (5) solicit information and testimony from those individuals, agen- 12 cies, and entities that may be of assistance to the committee in the 13 performance of its duties, including but not limited to, the New York 14 state comptroller, a principal of an urban elementary school, and a 15 superintendent of a school district that includes a career and technical 16 education center; and 17 (6) develop a proposal for New York, based on projected kindergarten 18 enrollment during the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 school years, that 19 addresses the anticipated investment per student, guidelines for account 20 maintenance, application procedures, and administrative costs. 21 d. The first meeting of the committee shall be held within 45 days of 22 the effective date of this act. 23 e. The committee shall report its findings and any recommendations for 24 proposed legislation to the speaker of the assembly, the temporary pres- 25 ident of the senate, the assembly clerk, the senate clerk, the governor, 26 and the state library on or before November 1, 2024. Upon delivery of 27 the report and recommendations, the committee shall be disbanded. 28 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall be repealed 29 November 1, 2026.