Amended in Assembly May 9, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Concurrent ResolutionNo. 168


Introduced by Assembly Member Medina

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(Coauthors: Assembly Members Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O’Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, and Wood)

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April 13, 2016


Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 168—Relative to 529 College Savings Day.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

ACR 168, as amended, Medina. 529 College Savings Day.

This measure would designate May 29, 2016, as 529 College Savings Day, to raise awareness about the importance of saving for college with the help of 529 college savings plans.

Fiscal committee: no.

P1    1WHEREAS, 529 college savings plans are important tools for
2California families that want to save for their children’s college
P1    1education, offering a diverse range of investment options,
2tax-deferred growth, and withdrawals free of state and federal
3taxes when those withdrawals are used for qualified higher
4education expenses such as tuition, fees, books, certain room and
5board costs, and required supplies; and

6WHEREAS, While the first college savings plans were
7developed by states in 1988 as innovative programs designed to
8help families and students save for higher education expenses, it
9was not until the enactment of Section 529 of the Internal Revenue
10Code by Congress in 1996 that college savings plans began to
11rapidly gain popularity across the country; and

12WHEREAS, Today, 49 states and the District of Columbia offer
13529 college savings plans, over 12.5 million 529 accounts have
14been opened, more than $253 billion have been saved for future
15higher education expenses, and more than one million students
16nationwide have withdrawn funds from 529 accounts to help pay
17higher education expenses; and

18WHEREAS, The ScholarShare College Savings Plan, which
19has served as California’s official state-sponsored 529 college
20savings plan since its launch in 1999, has grown to more than $6.37
21billion in total plan assets held in over 270,000 ScholarShare
22accounts; and

23WHEREAS, The ScholarShare College Savings Plan has helped
24students meet their higher education goals with over $333 million
25withdrawn annually for qualified higher education expenses at
26over 958 colleges and universities; and

27WHEREAS, In California, from 2005-06 to 2014-15, tuition
28rates at the University of California, the California State University,
29and the California Community Colleges increased 114 percent,
30117 percent, and 130 percent, respectively, and over the past 40
31years, tuition rates have consistently increased at two to three times
32the rate of inflation every year; and

33WHEREAS, Federal financial aid awards have shifted away
34from student grants to providing access to guaranteed student loans
35so that, today, nearly 60 percent of all federal financial aid is in
36the form of loans, substantially increasing the number of college
37graduates who will face the burden of repaying significant student
38loan debt upon entering the workforce; and

P3    1WHEREAS, According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New
2York, student loan debt has now reached $1.3 trillion nationally,
3which is more than triple the amount owed in 2005; and

4WHEREAS, When Americans are burdened with student loan
5debt, they are not able to buy homes, cars, and other products that
6boost our economy; and

7WHEREAS, College savings plans, such as the ScholarShare
8College Savings Plan, help families to limit or eliminate future
9student loan debt by helping them save for future higher education
10expenses; and

11WHEREAS, The contributions families make today pay off in
12the form of an increased earning potential for their children in the
13future, with a college graduate earning an average of $1 million
14more than a high school graduate during his or her career according
15to the United States Census Bureau; and

16WHEREAS, May 29th is recognized nationally as 529 College
17Savings Day to help raise awareness across the country of the
18importance of saving for college with the help of 529 college
19savings plans; now, therefore, be it

20Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
21thereof concurring,
That the Legislature of the State of California
22hereby proclaims May 29, 2016, as 529 College Savings Day; and
23be it further

24Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies
25of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.



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