Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB27 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R1929 ALB-D
2	2	By: Zaffirini S.B. No. 27
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the creation of the individual development account
8	8	program to provide savings incentives and opportunities to eligible
9	9	low-income individuals and households.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Chapter 403, Government Code, is amended by
12	12	adding Subchapter O to read as follows:
13	13	SUBCHAPTER O. ASSET DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE FOR CERTAIN
14	14	LOW-INCOME INDIVIDUALS AND HOUSEHOLDS
15	15	Sec. 403.501. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
16	16	(1) "Assets for Independence Act" means the federal
17	17	Assets for Independence Act (42 U.S.C. Section 604 note).
18	18	(2) "Financial institution" has the meaning assigned
19	19	by Section 201.101, Finance Code.
20	20	(3) "Individual development account" means a deposit
21	21	account established by a participant at a financial institution
22	22	selected by a sponsoring organization.
23	23	(4) "Participant" means an individual or household
24	24	that has entered into an agreement with a sponsoring organization
25	25	to participate in the program.
26	26	(5) "Program" means the individual development
27	27	account program established under this subchapter.
28	28	(6) "Service provider" means a person to whom a
29	29	qualified expenditure from a participant's individual development
30	30	account is made. The term includes:
31	31	(A) a public or private institution of higher
32	32	education;
33	33	(B) a provider of occupational or vocational
34	34	education, including a proprietary school;
35	35	(C) a mortgage lender;
36	36	(D) a title insurance company;
37	37	(E) the lessor or vendor of office supplies or
38	38	equipment or retail space, office space, or other business space;
39	39	and
40	40	(F) any other provider of goods or services used
41	41	for the start of a business.
42	42	(7) "Sponsoring organization" has the meaning
43	43	assigned to "qualified entity" by Section 404(7), Assets for
44	44	Independence Act.
45	45	Sec. 403.502. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM; RULES. (a) The
46	46	comptroller by rule may develop and implement a program under
47	47	which:
48	48	(1) individual development accounts are facilitated
49	49	and administered by sponsoring organizations for eligible
50	50	low-income individuals and households to provide those individuals
51	51	and households with an opportunity to accumulate assets and to
52	52	facilitate and mobilize savings;
53	53	(2) sponsoring organizations are provided grant funds
54	54	for use in administering the program and matching qualified
55	55	expenditures made by program participants; and
56	56	(3) at least 85 percent of the grant funds described by
57	57	Subdivision (2) must be used by the sponsoring organization for
58	58	matching qualified expenditures.
59	59	(b) The comptroller shall contract with sponsoring
60	60	organizations to facilitate the establishment of and to administer
61	61	the individual development accounts in accordance with the rules
62	62	adopted by the comptroller. The comptroller's rules must include
63	63	guidelines for contract monitoring, reporting, termination, and
64	64	recapture of state funds.
65	65	(c) In adopting rules under the program, the comptroller
66	66	shall state the selection criteria for sponsoring organizations and
67	67	give priority to organizations that have demonstrated:
68	68	(1) a capacity to administer individual development
69	69	account programs; and
70	70	(2) a commitment to serve areas of this state that
71	71	currently do not have individual development account programs
72	72	available.
73	73	Sec. 403.503. PARTICIPANT ELIGIBILITY. The comptroller by
74	74	rule shall establish eligibility criteria for participation in the
75	75	program that are consistent with the purposes of the program and
76	76	with the Assets for Independence Act.
77	77	Sec. 403.504. CONTRIBUTIONS AND EXPENDITURES BY
78	78	PARTICIPANT. (a) A participant may contribute to the
79	79	participant's individual development account.
80	80	(b) A participant's contributions to the participant's
81	81	individual development account shall accrue interest.
82	82	(c) A participant may withdraw money from the participant's
83	83	account only to pay for the following qualified expenditures:
84	84	(1) postsecondary educational or training expenses
85	85	for the adult account holder and dependent children;
86	86	(2) the expenses of purchasing or financing a home for
87	87	the adult account holder for the first time;
88	88	(3) the expenses of a self-employment enterprise; and
89	89	(4) start-up business expenses for the adult account
90	90	holder.
91	91	Sec. 403.505. DUTIES OF SPONSORING ORGANIZATIONS. (a) The
92	92	comptroller shall adopt rules to establish the duties of sponsoring
93	93	organizations under the program.
94	94	(b) Each sponsoring organization shall provide to the
95	95	comptroller any information necessary to evaluate the sponsoring
96	96	organization's performance in fulfilling the duties outlined in the
97	97	comptroller's rules.
98	98	Sec. 403.506. MATCHING FUNDS; LIMITATIONS ON AMOUNT AND
99	99	AVAILABILITY. (a) At the time a participant in the program makes a
100	100	withdrawal from the participant's individual development account
101	101	for a qualified expenditure described by Section 403.504(c), the
102	102	participant shall receive matching funds from the sponsoring
103	103	organization, payable directly to the service provider.
104	104	(b) If Assets for Independence Act money is used as matching
105	105	funds, the amount of federal matching funds spent for each
106	106	individual development account may not exceed the limits
107	107	established by the Assets for Independence Act. If money other than
108	108	Assets for Independence Act money is used as matching funds, the
109	109	comptroller by rule may set a different limit on the amount of
110	110	matching funds that may be spent for each account.
111	111	(c) This subchapter may not be construed to create an
112	112	entitlement of a participant to receive matching funds. The number
113	113	of participants who receive matching funds under the program in any
114	114	year is limited by the amount of funds available for that purpose in
115	115	that year.
116	116	Sec. 403.507. WITHDRAWALS; TERMINATION OF ACCOUNT FOR
117	117	UNQUALIFIED WITHDRAWALS. (a) The comptroller by rule shall
118	118	establish guidelines to ensure that a participant does not withdraw
119	119	money from the participant's individual development account,
120	120	except for a qualified expenditure described by Section 403.504(c).
121	121	(b) The sponsoring organization shall instruct the
122	122	financial institution to terminate a participant's account if the
123	123	participant does not comply with the guidelines established by
124	124	comptroller rule.
125	125	(c) A participant whose individual development account is
126	126	terminated under this section is entitled to withdraw from the
127	127	participant's account the amount of money the participant
128	128	contributed to the account and any interest that has accrued on that
129	129	amount.
130	130	Sec. 403.508. FUNDING. (a) The legislature may
131	131	appropriate money for the purposes of this subchapter.
132	132	(b) The comptroller may accept gifts, grants, and donations
133	133	from any public or private source for the purposes of this
134	134	subchapter.
135	135	Sec. 403.509. COORDINATION. The comptroller shall:
136	136	(1) serve as a clearinghouse for information relating
137	137	to state and local and public and private programs that facilitate
138	138	asset development among low-income families; and
139	139	(2) post the information described by Subdivision (1)
140	140	on the comptroller's Internet website.
141	141	Sec. 403.510. INTERAGENCY CONTRACTS. The comptroller may
142	142	enter into interagency contracts with other state agencies to
143	143	facilitate the effective administration of this subchapter.
144	144	Sec. 403.511. AGENCY COOPERATION. To the extent allowed by
145	145	law, the Health and Human Services Commission shall provide
146	146	information to the comptroller as necessary to implement this
147	147	subchapter.
148	148	SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.