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The College Savings Foundation public policy program is carried out on three fronts:

Government Affairs: addressing a range of state and federal legislative issues.
Regulatory Affairs: works with Federal regulatory agencies to address issues of concern to 529 programs.

Listed below are various CSF produced documents and other resources that members will find valuable in addressing public policy issues. Feel free to contact the appropriate committee chair for more information about any of these materials.

All documents available in PDF or Word.

Government Affairs

State

State List of Tax Parity Letters (08-06)

Alabama:

Alabama Representative Lindsey

Arizona:

Support of AZ House Bill 2280

Amend H B 2280 to Provide Tax Equity

California:

Letter of Support AB 819 (Word Document) CSF California SB 30 Members of Revenue and Tax 2005 letter

CSF California Senator Speier Letter SB 30 2005

Connecticut:

Letter to House Speaker James Amman re- Legislation to Equalize Tax Treatment of 529 College Saving Plans

Letter to Senator Martin Looney

Letter to Representative Lawrence Cafero

Letter to Higher Education Committee

Illinois:

CSF Letter to the Illinois Treasurer’s Deputy Chief of Staff for Law and Policy

IL Senate Bill 507 – CSF:SIA Position Paper – March 2005

IL Senate Bill 507 – Response to IL Treasurer’s Position Paper – March 2005

Kansas:

College Savings Foundation Applauds Kansas Bill Equalizing Tax Treatment For All 529 College Savings Programs

Letter to Representative Kenny Wilk

Maine:

Maine press release final CSF and SIA 04-06

Missouri:

Letter to Joint Interim Committee on Investments in Higher Education Savings Programs (September 7, 2005)

College Savings Foundation, SIA Applaud Missouri Legislature For Commitment to Helping More Families Save For College (May 20, 2005)

North Carolina:

North Carolina Governor Mike Easley yesterday signed SB 1741, which provides a state tax deduction on contributions only to the North Carolina plan. You may recall the original bill (HB 770) provided a deduction on contributions up to $10,000 for single filers and $20,000 for joint filers to the North Carolina plan. We opposed this in our letter to the Senate Finance Committee on June 29. Section 24.12 of SB 1741, effective for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2006, reduces the amount of the deduction to $750 for single filers and $1500 for joint filers if the taxpayer’s adjusted gross income is less than the following:

Filing Status
AGI
Married, filing jointly $100,000
Head of Household 80,000
Single 60,000
Married, filing separately 50,000

SB 1741 also includes a section that requires the Revenue Laws Study Committee (“Committee”) to study the issue of providing income tax deductions for all contributions to section 529 plans. The Committee is required to report their recommendations and legislative proposals to the 2007 General Assembly. We supported this section in our June 29th letter to the Senate Finance Committee and agreed to help in any way we can.

Letter to Senator Charles W. Albertson (June 29, 2006)

Pennsylvania:

Letter to Representative Raymond Bunt, Jr. (June 08, 2006)

Testimony before the House Finance Committee

Support of House Bills 2096 and 529

Rhode Island:

Testimony before the Senate Committee on Finance

Support of SB 2716

Support of HB 7062

2005 Rhode Island Letter of Support

Wisconsin:

Letter to Wisconsin Governor in Support of Tax Equity – January 2005

Federal

UPDATE ON 529 PERMANENCY EFFORTS

Letter to Chairman Grassley & Ranking Member Baucus (May 2, 2006)

PERMANENCE OF 529 PLAN TAX TREATMENT CRITICAL TO AMERICAN FAMILIES’ COLLEGE SAVINGS (December, 2005)

Letter to the Editor (October 5, 2005)

COLLEGE SAVINGS FOUNDATION – Talking Points (July 7, 2005)

06 lincoln-crapo 529 letter (00002156)

RECAP OF 6:28:05 COLLEGE SAVINGS FOUNDATION LOBBY MEETINGS ON 529 PERMANENCE LEGISLATION (July 5, 2005)

06 pension conf staff list (00004810)

Request to Co-Sponsor 529 Plan Permanence Legislation (S. 1112) (June 23, 2005)

Request to Co-Sponsor 529 Plan Permanence Legislation (H.R. 2386) (June 23, 2005)

Sample Letter to Congress regarding 529 Plan Permanence Legislation (June 15, 2005)

Permanence of 529 Plan Tax Treatment Critical to American Families’ College Savings (June 15, 2005)

College Savings Foundation commends U.S. Senators Grassley and Baucus on Bill to Make Tax-Free 529 Withdrawals Permanent (May 24, 2005)

College Savings Foundation Applauds U.S. Representatives Hart and Pomeroy on Legislation Making Tax-Free 529 Withdrawals Permanent

College Savings Foundation Applauds Rep. Nancy Johnson’s Efforts on Legislation Making Tax-Free 529 Withdrawals Permanent

Memo on Federal Strategy on 529 Issues

Federal 529 Coalition Proposal

Testimony by CSF Chairman Chuck Toth to the Senate Committee on Finance – July 22, 2004

Report of the Joint Committee on Taxation – Present Law and Analysis Relating to Tax Benefits for Higher Education – July 22, 200

Excerpts from Written Statements Presented at the September 30, 2004 Hearing on Section 529 College Savings Plans Before the Senate Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Financial Managment, the Budget and International Security

Regulatory Affairs

Letter to SEC Regarding 529 Issues Task Force – March 2004

Letter to IRS Regarding Follow-up to March 9, 2004 Meeting

General Public Policy Resources

The Many Benefits of State Tax Equity for 529 Plans – January 2005

CSF White Paper – Promoting College Savings By and For American Families Combined

Dynarski Paper — “Who Benefits from Education Savings Incentives? A NBER Working Paper by Susan Dynarski — May 2004”

CBO Paper — “Private and Public Contributions to Financing College Education- A CBO Paper — January 2004”

Incentives of the ESA — “The Incentives of Education of Savings Accounts” – American Enterprise Institute Conference — October 22, 2004. Summary Report prepared by Randy Hardock Harmann and Davis