Florida Senate - 2015                                     SB 644
       
       
        
       By Senator Benacquisto
       
       
       
       
       
       30-00855-15                                            2015644__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to trust funds; creating s. 1009.988,
    3         F.S.; creating the Florida ABLE Trust Fund within the
    4         State Board of Administration; authorizing sources of
    5         funds; specifying the purpose of the trust fund and
    6         authorized uses of the assets; providing for future
    7         review and termination or re-creation of the trust
    8         fund; providing a contingent effective date.
    9          
   10  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   11  
   12         Section 1. Section 1009.988, Florida Statutes, is created
   13  to read:
   14         1009.988 Florida ABLE Trust Fund.—
   15         (1) The Florida ABLE Trust Fund is created within the State
   16  Board of Administration.
   17         (2) The Florida ABLE trust fund shall consist of
   18  appropriations, moneys acquired from other governmental or
   19  private sources for the Florida ABLE program, and moneys
   20  remitted in accordance with participation agreements. Assets
   21  held in the trust fund may be expended only to carry out the
   22  purposes of the Florida ABLE program.
   23         (a) Any balance in the trust fund at the end of a fiscal
   24  year shall remain in the trust fund and shall be available for
   25  carrying out the purpose of the Florida ABLE program. Assets
   26  held in the trust fund are exempt from the investment
   27  requirements of s. 17.57 and may be invested pursuant to s.
   28  215.47.
   29         (b) Assets held in the trust fund shall be maintained,
   30  invested, and expended solely for the purposes of the Florida
   31  ABLE program and may not be loaned, transferred, or otherwise
   32  used by the state for any purpose other than the Florida ABLE
   33  program. This paragraph does not prohibit Florida ABLE, Inc.,
   34  from investing in, by purchase or otherwise, bonds, notes, or
   35  other obligations of the state or an agency or instrumentality
   36  of the state. Unless otherwise specified by Florida ABLE, Inc.,
   37  assets held in the trust fund shall be expended in the priority
   38  of making payments to, or on behalf of, designated beneficiaries
   39  and then paying for the costs of administration and operations
   40  for the Florida ABLE program.
   41         (3) In accordance with s. 19(f)(2), Art. III of the State
   42  Constitution, unless terminated sooner, the Florida ABLE Trust
   43  Fund shall be terminated on October 1, 2019. Before its
   44  scheduled termination, the trust fund shall be reviewed as
   45  provided under s. 215.3206(1) and (2).
   46         Section 2. This act shall take effect on the same date that
   47  SB __ or similar legislation takes effect, if such legislation
   48  is adopted in the same legislative session or an extension
   49  thereof and becomes a law.