SB 186: "An Act establishing a college tuition savings plan; and providing for an effective date."
00SENATE BILL NO. 186 01 "An Act establishing a college tuition savings plan; and providing for an effective 02 date." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. AS 14.42.030(b) is amended to read: 05 (b) The commission shall 06 (1) develop a comprehensive statewide plan for coordinated 07 postsecondary education in the state and serve as the state commission on 08 postsecondary education required under 20 U.S.C. 1099 (Higher Education Act of 09 1965) [SEC. 1202 OF TITLE XII OF THE HIGHER EDUCATION ACT OF 1965, 10 AS AMENDED BY THE EDUCATION AMENDMENTS OF 1972 (P.L. 92-318, 11 SEC. 196; 86 STAT. 324)]; 12 (2) establish a state advisory council on community colleges and 13 develop a comprehensive statewide plan for the expansion and improvement of the 14 community colleges under 20 U.S.C. 1135 (Higher Education Act of 1965) [SEC.
01 1001 OF TITLE X OF THE HIGHER EDUCATION ACT OF 1965, AS AMENDED 02 BY THE EDUCATION AMENDMENTS OF 1972 (P.L. 92-318, SEC. 186; 86 STAT. 03 312, 313)]; 04 (3) serve as the state agency required under 20 U.S.C. 1005 and 20 05 U.S.C. 1123 (Higher Education Act of 1965) [SEC. 105 OF TITLE I (COMMUNITY 06 SERVICE AND CONTINUING EDUCATION), 603 OF TITLE VI (FINANCIAL 07 ASSISTANCE FOR UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION), 704 OF TITLE VII 08 (CONSTRUCTION OF ACADEMIC FACILITIES), AND PART B OF TITLE IV 09 (GUARANTEED STUDENT LOAN PROGRAM) OF THE HIGHER EDUCATION 10 ACT OF 1965 (P.L. 89-329; 79 STAT. 1220, 1262; 20 U.S.C. 1005, 1123) 11 AS AUTHORIZED BY SEC. 1202(c) OF TITLE XII OF THE HIGHER 12 EDUCATION ACT OF 1965, AS AMENDED BY THE EDUCATION 13 AMENDMENTS OF 1972 (P.L. 92-318, SEC. 196; 86 STAT. 324)]; 14 (4) administer the provisions of AS 14.43.090 - 14.43.160 (student loan 15 program); 16 (5) administer the provisions of AS 14.48 (regulation of postsecondary 17 educational institutions); 18 (6) resolve any disputes that exist or arise under a consortium or other 19 cooperative agreement between institutions of public and private higher education in 20 the state ; 21 (7) administer the provisions of AS 14.42.400 . 22 * Sec. 2. AS 14.42 is amended by adding a new section to read: 23 Article 3. Alaska College Tuition Savings Plan. 24 Sec. 14.42.400. Alaska college tuition savings plan. (a) The Alaska college 25 tuition savings plan is established in the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary 26 Education. The commission shall 27 (1) administer, manage, promote, and market the savings plan; 28 (2) maintain the savings plan in compliance with United States Internal 29 Revenue Service standards for a qualified state tuition program as the term is defined 30 in 26 U.S.C. 529(b); 31 (3) establish application and withdrawal procedures for savings plan
01 participants; 02 (4) issue requests for proposals for a contractor to act as the savings 03 plan manager; in determining who is best qualified to manage the savings plan, the 04 commission shall consider the ability to 05 (A) administer financial programs with individual account 06 maintenance and reporting; 07 (B) develop and administer an investment program with similar 08 objectives to those of the savings plan; and 09 (C) augment the savings plan with other programs or services 10 considered beneficial by the commission; 11 (5) require savings plan participants to pay a fee to cover the 12 administrative costs of the savings plan; 13 (6) operate the savings plan on a cash only basis, including provisions 14 for automatic deductions; 15 (7) allow both residents and nonresidents to participate in the savings 16 plan; 17 (8) allow funds deposited with the savings plan to be used for any 18 qualified higher education expenses. 19 (b) The commission may divide the savings plan into multiple investment 20 portfolios or operate the savings plan as a trust. 21 (c) The state or an agency of the state is not liable for a loss of funds that are 22 invested by a participant in the savings plan. The commission shall provide written 23 notice to each applicant that the savings plan does not guarantee any rate of return and 24 that any risk of loss in fund value rests with the participants. 25 (d) In this section, 26 (1) "commission" means the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary 27 Education; 28 (2) "qualified higher education expenses" has the meaning given in 26 29 U.S.C. 529(e); 30 (3) "savings plan" means the Alaska college tuition savings plan. 31 * Sec. 3. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section
01 to read: 02 TRANSITION. The Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education shall issue the 03 initial request for proposals to manage the Alaska college tuition savings plan by January 1, 04 2001. 05 * Sec. 4. This Act takes effect July 1, 2000.