BILL NUMBER: AB 449	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Irwin
   (Coauthors: Assembly Members Chávez, Maienschein, Steinorth, and
Waldron)
   (Coauthors: Senators Allen and Anderson)

                        FEBRUARY 23, 2015

   An act relating to public social services.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 449, as introduced, Irwin. Individuals with disabilities:
savings accounts.
   Existing law provides for the State Supplementary Program for the
Aged, Blind and Disabled (SSP), which requires the State Department
of Social Services to contract with the United States Secretary of
Health and Human Services to make payments to SSP recipients to
supplement supplemental security income (SSI) payments made available
pursuant to the federal Social Security Act. Existing law also
declares that an array of services and supports should be established
that is sufficiently complete to meet the needs and choices of each
person with developmental disabilities to support their integration
into the mainstream life of the community. Existing federal law, the
Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act, would create tax-free
savings accounts for individuals with disabilities. The ABLE Act aims
to ease financial strains faced by individuals with disabilities by
making tax-free savings accounts available to cover qualified
expenses.
   This bill would express the intent of the Legislature to enact
legislation that would implement the federal ABLE Act in California
to ensure that people with disabilities can save for the future to
achieve greater independence.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  It is the intent of the Legislature to enact
legislation that would implement the federal Achieving Better Life
Experience (ABLE) Act in California to ensure that people with
disabilities may save for the future to achieve greater independence.