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THE SENATE |
S.R. NO. |
153 |
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THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2024 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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SENATE RESOLUTION
Requesting the Department of BUDGET AND FINANCE to work with the State Council on Developmental Disabilities to enhance the ABLE Savings Program by promoting it to all individuals who may qualify.
WHEREAS, the Hawaii Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Savings Program authorizes eligible account holders with disabilities to establish flexible savings accounts for college, health, and individual retirement; and
WHEREAS, presently, approximately twenty-three thousand individuals with developmental disabilities in the State are eligible to open an ABLE Savings Program account, with an additional twenty thousand individuals with other disabilities eligible for the ABLE Savings Program; and
WHEREAS, ABLE provides individuals with opportunities to engage in financial planning; and
WHEREAS, Act 206, Session Laws of Hawaii 2015, enacted the Hawaii ABLE Savings Program; and
WHEREAS, the ABLE Savings Program is modeled after section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code, also known as 529 college savings plans, where interest earned on savings are tax-free; and
WHEREAS, the ABLE Savings Program allows individuals with disabilities the same types of flexible savings accounts that people without disabilities have, such as college savings accounts, health savings accounts, and individual retirement accounts; and
WHEREAS, an ABLE Savings Program account would enable individuals with a disability to accrue funds to pay for a variety of expenses, such as medical and dental care, education, community-based support, employment training, assistive technology, housing, and transportation; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2024, that the Department of Budget and Finance is requested to work with the State Council on Developmental Disabilities to enhance the ABLE Savings Program by promoting it to all individuals who may qualify; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Finance and Chairperson of the Hawaii State Council on Developmental Disabilities.
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OFFERED BY: |
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DOH; State Council on Developmental Disabilities; ABLE Savings Program; Outreach