S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   9281
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             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:
 
   Section  1.  Paragraph (a) of subdivision 3 of section 78 of the state
 finance law, as amended by chapter 328 of the laws of 2003,  is  amended
 to read as follows:
   (a)  The comptroller, as trustee, shall invest the assets of the trust
 fund [in investments authorized by article four-A of the retirement  and
 social security law, provided however, that:
   (i)  the provisions of paragraph (a) of subdivision two of section one
 hundred seventy-seven of the retirement and social  security  law  shall
 not apply except for the first clause of subparagraph (ii) of such para-
 graph; and
   (ii)  notwithstanding  the  provisions of subdivision seven of section
 one hundred seventy-seven of the retirement and social security  law  or
 any  other  law  to  the  contrary,  the assets of the trust fund may be
 invested in any funding agreement  issued  in  accordance  with  section
 three thousand two hundred twenty-two of the insurance law by a domestic
 life  insurance  company or a foreign life insurance company doing busi-
 ness in this state, subject to the following:
   (1) such a funding agreement may provide for a guaranteed minimum rate
 of return;
   (2) such a funding agreement may be allocated  as  either  a  separate
 account  or  a  general  account  of  the issuer, as the comptroller may
 decide;
   (3) total investments of the trust fund pursuant to this paragraph  in
 any  funding  agreements issued by a single life insurance company which
 are allocated as a general account of  the  issuer  shall  not,  in  the
 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

   (4)  no assets of the trust fund shall be invested in any such funding
 agreement unless, at the time of  such  investment,  the  general  obli-
 gations  or  financial  strength  of the issuer have received either the
 highest or second highest rating by  two  nationally  recognized  rating
 services  or  by  one  nationally recognized rating service in the event
 that only one such service rates such obligations] WITH THE CARE, SKILL,
 PRUDENCE AND DILIGENCE UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES THEN  PREVAILING  THAT  A
 PRUDENT  PERSON ACTING IN A LIKE CAPACITY AND FAMILIAR WITH SUCH MATTERS
 WOULD USE IN THE CONDUCT OF AN ENTERPRISE OF A LIKE CHARACTER  AND  WITH
 LIKE AIMS.
   §  2.  Paragraph  (a)  of  subdivision  3 of section 99-x of the state
 finance law, as added by chapter 576 of the laws of 2015, is amended  to
 read as follows:
   (a)  The comptroller, as trustee, shall invest the assets of the trust
 fund [in investments authorized by article four-A of the retirement  and
 social security law, provided however, that: (i) the provisions of para-
 graph (a) of subdivision two of section one hundred seventy-seven of the
 retirement  and social security law shall not apply except for the first
 clause of subparagraph (ii) of such paragraph; and (ii)  notwithstanding
 the provisions of subdivision seven of section one hundred seventy-seven
 of  the  retirement  and  social  security  law  or any other law to the
 contrary, the assets of the trust fund may be invested  in  any  funding
 agreement  issued  in accordance with section three thousand two hundred
 twenty-two of the insurance law by a domestic life insurance company  or
 a  foreign  life insurance company doing business in this state, subject
 to the following: (1) such a funding agreement may provide for a guaran-
 teed minimum rate of return; (2) such a funding agreement may  be  allo-
 cated  as  either a separate account or a general account of the issuer,
 as the comptroller may decide; (3) total investments of the  trust  fund
 pursuant  to this paragraph in any funding agreements issued by a single
 life insurance company which are allocated as a general account  of  the
 issuer  shall  not, in the aggregate, exceed three hundred fifty million
 dollars; and (4) no assets of the trust fund shall be  invested  in  any
 such  funding  agreement  unless,  at  the  time of such investment, the
 general obligations or financial strength of the  issuer  have  received
 either the highest or second highest rating by two nationally recognized
 rating  services  or  by one nationally recognized rating service in the
 event that only one such service rates such obligations] WITH THE  CARE,
 SKILL,  PRUDENCE  AND  DILIGENCE UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES THEN PREVAILING
 THAT A PRUDENT PERSON ACTING IN A LIKE CAPACITY AND FAMILIAR  WITH  SUCH
 MATTERS  WOULD  USE  IN THE CONDUCT OF AN ENTERPRISE OF A LIKE CHARACTER
 AND WITH LIKE AIMS.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.