Relates to investment standards for investments of the New York State college choice tuition savings program and the New York achieving a better life experience (ABLE) savings account program.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9281
IN ASSEMBLY
February 10, 2022
___________
Introduced by M. of A. GLICK -- (at request of the State Comptroller) --
read once and referred to the Committee on Higher Education
AN ACT to amend the state finance law, in relation to the investment
standard for investments of the New York state college choice tuition
savings program and the New York achieving a better life experience
(ABLE) savings account program
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 3 of section 78 of the state
2 finance law, as amended by chapter 328 of the laws of 2003, is amended
3 to read as follows:
4 (a) The comptroller, as trustee, shall invest the assets of the trust
5 fund [in investments authorized by article four-A of the retirement and
6 social security law, provided however, that:
7 (i) the provisions of paragraph (a) of subdivision two of section one
8 hundred seventy-seven of the retirement and social security law shall
9 not apply except for the first clause of subparagraph (ii) of such para-
10 graph; and
11 (ii) notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision seven of section
12 one hundred seventy-seven of the retirement and social security law or
13 any other law to the contrary, the assets of the trust fund may be
14 invested in any funding agreement issued in accordance with section
15 three thousand two hundred twenty-two of the insurance law by a domestic
16 life insurance company or a foreign life insurance company doing busi-
17 ness in this state, subject to the following:
18 (1) such a funding agreement may provide for a guaranteed minimum rate
19 of return;
20 (2) such a funding agreement may be allocated as either a separate
21 account or a general account of the issuer, as the comptroller may
22 decide;
23 (3) total investments of the trust fund pursuant to this paragraph in
24 any funding agreements issued by a single life insurance company which
25 are allocated as a general account of the issuer shall not, in the
26 aggregate, exceed three hundred fifty million dollars; and
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10690-01-1
A. 9281 2
1 (4) no assets of the trust fund shall be invested in any such funding
2 agreement unless, at the time of such investment, the general obli-
3 gations or financial strength of the issuer have received either the
4 highest or second highest rating by two nationally recognized rating
5 services or by one nationally recognized rating service in the event
6 that only one such service rates such obligations] with the care, skill,
7 prudence and diligence under the circumstances then prevailing that a
8 prudent person acting in a like capacity and familiar with such matters
9 would use in the conduct of an enterprise of a like character and with
10 like aims.
11 § 2. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 3 of section 99-x of the state
12 finance law, as added by chapter 576 of the laws of 2015, is amended to
13 read as follows:
14 (a) The comptroller, as trustee, shall invest the assets of the trust
15 fund [in investments authorized by article four-A of the retirement and
16 social security law, provided however, that: (i) the provisions of para-
17 graph (a) of subdivision two of section one hundred seventy-seven of the
18 retirement and social security law shall not apply except for the first
19 clause of subparagraph (ii) of such paragraph; and (ii) notwithstanding
20 the provisions of subdivision seven of section one hundred seventy-seven
21 of the retirement and social security law or any other law to the
22 contrary, the assets of the trust fund may be invested in any funding
23 agreement issued in accordance with section three thousand two hundred
24 twenty-two of the insurance law by a domestic life insurance company or
25 a foreign life insurance company doing business in this state, subject
26 to the following: (1) such a funding agreement may provide for a guaran-
27 teed minimum rate of return; (2) such a funding agreement may be allo-
28 cated as either a separate account or a general account of the issuer,
29 as the comptroller may decide; (3) total investments of the trust fund
30 pursuant to this paragraph in any funding agreements issued by a single
31 life insurance company which are allocated as a general account of the
32 issuer shall not, in the aggregate, exceed three hundred fifty million
33 dollars; and (4) no assets of the trust fund shall be invested in any
34 such funding agreement unless, at the time of such investment, the
35 general obligations or financial strength of the issuer have received
36 either the highest or second highest rating by two nationally recognized
37 rating services or by one nationally recognized rating service in the
38 event that only one such service rates such obligations] with the care,
39 skill, prudence and diligence under the circumstances then prevailing
40 that a prudent person acting in a like capacity and familiar with such
41 matters would use in the conduct of an enterprise of a like character
42 and with like aims.
43 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
