House Passes College and Disability Savings Bill

Every once and while there is a no vote that you were not expecting, and that is the case with the House vote on House Bill 145 last week. The bill passed 39-1-1, with Democrat and progressive Madinah Wilson-Anton voting no. This bill, sponsored by Rep. Krista Griffith, that would provide tax benefits to Delawareans saving for education or for the benefit of people with disabilities.

It would give a personal income tax deduction of up to $1,000 for contributions to a DE529 Education Savings Plan Account, and up to $5,000 for contributions to DEpendABLE accounts.

DE529 accounts help parents, grandparents and others pay for education expenses, reducing the possibility of debt. Money in the accounts is tax free as it grows and withdrawals for qualified education expenses like tuition, fees, and books are federal and Delaware income tax-free.

DEpendABLE, Delaware’s Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) program, allows individuals with disabilities and their families to save for a broad range of expenses on a tax-advantaged basis without jeopardizing their benefits from supplemental security income (SSI), Medicaid and other federal and state programs.

I do not see this bill on today’s Senate Agenda, so if it doesn’t pass tonight in the Senate, it will be taken up early next year. If the bill is passed tonight, this post will be updated with the Senate votes.

House Bill 145 Sponsors	Yes Votes	No Votes
Griffith, K.Johnson, Longhurst, Heffernan, Dorsey Walker, Bush, Brady, Lambert	House Passed 39-1-1. Baumbach Bennett Bentz Bolden Brady Bush Carson Chukwuocha Cooke Dorsey-Walker Griffith Heffernan K.Johnson K.Williams Kowalko Lambert Longhurst Lynn Matthews Minor-Brown Mitchell Morrison Osienski S.Moore Schwartzkopf Briggs King Collins D.Short Gray Hensley M.Smith Morris Postles Ramone Shupe Smyk Spiegelman Vanderwende Yearick	Wilson-Anton, Dukes (Absent)
Paradee, Sturgeon, Hansen, Gay
Current Status —	Senate Finance Committee as of 6/30/21

State Representative and Sponsor Krista Griffith: “I’m so pleased that a terrific bill to help families save for college passed the House Thursday. HB 145 allows individual taxpayers who earn $100,000 or less to deduct up to $1,000 from their taxable income for contributions made to Delaware college savings, or 529, plans. Joint filers earning less than $200,000 can deduct up to $2,000 for contributions to the plans.”

“The bill also goes a long way to supporting those with disabilities. A second prong of the legislation allows taxpayers to deduct up to $5,000 from their taxable income for contributions made to ABLE, or 529A, accounts. The accounts — Achieving a Better Life Experience — are accounts that an individual with a disability may maintain without fear of losing vital government benefits.”