CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT

SECOND SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 2063

64th Legislature

2015 Regular Session

SECOND SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 2063

Passed Legislature - 2015 Regular Session


State of Washington	64th Legislature	2015 Regular Session

By House Appropriations (originally sponsored by Representatives Kilduff, Kagi, Jinkins, Springer, Hunter, Ormsby, Tharinger, and Tarleton)

READ FIRST TIME 02/27/15.

AN ACT Relating to the creation of the Washington achieving a better life experience program; and creating new sections.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The legislature finds that the federal achieving a better life experience act of 2014 (P.L. 113-295) encourages and assists individuals and families in saving private moneys for the purpose of supporting individuals with disabilities to maintain health, independence, and quality of life. The federal achieving a better life experience act of 2014 allows qualified individuals to make contributions to a savings account pursuant to section 529A of the federal internal revenue code of 1986, as amended, and up to one hundred thousand dollars of these accounts would not be counted as assets for purposes of supplemental security income, medicaid, and other federal means-tested public benefits.

(2) Building on the passage of the federal achieving a better life experience act of 2014, the legislature intends to establish a qualified achieving a better life experience program in this state. The federal treasury department is expected to establish regulations to implement the federal achieving a better life experience act of 2014 in the summer or fall of 2015. For this reason, the legislature finds that the most practical manner for this state to design an effective program is to charge the state treasurer's office with convening the affected agencies and stakeholders to design the program and provide a detailed implementation plan by November 1, 2015.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. (1) Within existing resources, the state treasurer's office shall convene a work group to design a qualified achieving a better life experience program pursuant to P.L. 113-295 and any federal regulations promulgated pursuant to that law. This work group shall convene by July 1, 2015. The achieving a better life experience program design work group shall include representatives from:

(a) The department of commerce;

(b) The state investment board;

(d) The department of social and health services;

(e) The developmental disability endowment governing board; and

(f) The disability community.

(2) The achieving a better life experience design work group shall provide a report to the governor and the appropriate committees of the legislature by November 1, 2015, that includes the following:

(a) A recommendation of the appropriate lead agency for the achieving a better life experience program;

(b) An analysis of the appropriate instrumentality to invest the achieving a better life experience program account moneys including the relative cost-benefit of using:

(i) An agency or instrumentality allowed by federal law and regulation other than the state investment board;

(ii) The state investment board; or

(iii) Contracting with another state.

(c) A proposed implementation plan for the state achieving a better life experience program, including an implementation date for the program, and communication with the public about investing in achieving a better life experience program accounts;

(d) A recommendation regarding the composition, purpose, role, and responsibilities of an achieving a better life experience advisory board; and

(e) An estimate of the number of eligible achieving a better life experience program participants in Washington.

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