BILL REQ. #:  S-0403.1 

Read first time 01/23/2003.   Referred to Committee on Economic Development.

     AN ACT Relating to family development accounts for low-income wage earners; adding a new section to chapter 43.31 RCW; and making an appropriation.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   A new section is added to chapter 43.31 RCW to read as follows:
     The department shall carry out a program to fund family development accounts established for eligible low-income wage earners.
     (1) A family development account may be established by or on behalf of an eligible low-income wage earner for the purpose of enabling the recipient to accumulate funds for a qualified purpose described in subsection (2) of this section.
     (2) A qualified purpose as described in this subsection is one or more of the following, as provided by the qualified entity providing assistance to the low-income wage earner:
     (a) Postsecondary expenses paid from a family development account directly to an eligible educational institution;
     (b) Qualified acquisition costs with respect to a qualified principal residence for a qualified first-time home buyer, if paid from a family development account directly to the persons to whom the amounts are due;
     (c) Amounts paid from a family development account directly to a business capitalization account which is established in a federally insured financial institution and is restricted to use solely for qualified business capitalization expenses.
     (3) An eligible low-income wage earner may only contribute to a family development account amounts derived from earned income, as defined in section 911(d)(2) of the internal revenue code of 1986.
     (4) The department shall establish rules to ensure funds held in a family development account are only withdrawn for a qualified purpose as provided in this section.
     (5) A family development account established under this section shall be a trust created or organized in the United States and funded through periodic contributions by the establishing eligible working-poor individual and matched by or through a qualified entity for a qualified purpose as provided in this section.
     (6) The department shall adopt rules authorizing the use of organizations using microcredit and microenterprise approaches to assisting working-poor individuals to become financially self-sufficient.
     (7) The department shall adopt rules implementing the use of family development accounts by eligible low-income wage earners.
     (8) Nothing in this section shall be construed to create an entitlement to matching moneys.
     (9) For the purposes of this section:
     (a) "Eligible educational institution," "postsecondary educational expenses," "qualified acquisition costs," "qualified business," "qualified business capitalization expenses," "qualified expenditures," "qualified first-time home buyer," "date of acquisition," "qualified plan," and "qualified principal residence" have the same meaning as provided for them in P.L. 104-193.
     (b) "Low-income wage earner" means a person whose adjusted income is less than eighty percent of the median family income, adjusted for household size, for the county or metropolitan statistical area where they reside.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   The sum of five hundred thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the fiscal biennium ending June 30, 2005, from the general fund to the department of community, trade, and economic development for the purposes of this act.