Senate Passes Fenberg Bill to Create College Kickstarter Account for Every Coloradan

April 30, 2019

Denver, CO — The Colorado State Senate yesterday voted 27-to-8 to pass HB19-1280, Child College Savings Accounts, a bill sponsored by Majority Leader Steve Fenberg (D-Boulder) that would help Coloradans save for college. The bill now heads to Governor Polis’ desk.

“Higher education costs have skyrocketed over the past decade, and as a result, Coloradans are taking on tens of thousands of dollars in student loans,” said Majority Leader Fenberg. “Our goal is to encourage families to start investing in their children’s future as soon as possible to alleviate future financial burden.”

Research has shown that children with college savings accounts at birth tend to do better academically, have more savings as adults, and are twice as likely to to go to college than children who don’t have college savings accounts. This bill would incentivize more parents to start saving for college earlier and give every kid a shot at success.

“Children with college savings accounts are three times more likely to enroll in college and four times more likely to graduate. If we are going to make sure that every child has a strong start and a fair shot at economic security later on in life, we need to help them save for the future,” added Majority Leader Fenberg.

Beginning in 2020, $100 of seed money will be set aside in a College Kickstarter Account administered by CollegeInvest, the State’s steward of various 529 College Savings Plans. The state will provide a college savings account to every child in Colorado born between January 1st, 2020 and January 1st, 2040.

For more information on this bill please visit: http://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb19-1280.

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