Virginia SB 375

Commonwealth Savers Plan; Virginia College Opportunity Endowment and Fund established; report. Establishes (i) the Endowment Scholarship Program for the purpose of providing scholarships to students at eligible institutions, as defined in the bill; (ii) the Virginia College Opportunity Endowment as an agency of the Commonwealth for the purpose of establishing and administering the Endowment Scholarship Program; and (iii) as subfunds of the Commonwealth Savers Plan fund, (a) the DB529 Fund for the purpose of holding in trust the assets of prepaid tuition contracts to meet contractual obligations and (b) the Virginia College Opportunity Fund (the Opportunity Fund), into which certain funds from the DB529 Fund shall be deposited for the purpose of funding, by income generated from investments of such deposits, the Endowment Scholarship Program and other applicable programs, as set forth in the bill. The bill requires the Commonwealth Savers Plan (the Plan) to (a) after the fiscal year beginning on July 1, 2026, deposit $500 million into the Opportunity Fund from the DB529 Fund; (b) each fiscal year thereafter, in accordance with the timeline set forth in the bill, submit to the General Assembly a report on the funded status, as defined by applicable law, of the DB529 Fund and the recommendations of the Plan on the prudence of directing deposits, and the amounts of any such deposits, of additional actuarial surpluses of the Plan from the DB529 Fund into the Opportunity Fund; and (c) each subsequent year, deposit additional actuarial surpluses into the Opportunity Fund in accordance with the provisions of the bill. The bill also requires the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission to, no less than biennially, complete an independent evaluation and risk assessment of the Plan's risk assessment model, assumptions, and other measures employed by the Plan relating to the DB529 Fund and Opportunity Fund. Finally, the bill contains provisions (1) relating to voluntary contributions to the Opportunity Fund for the purpose of receiving tax fund contributions and income tax deductions, and (2) exempting from mandatory disclosure requirements certain information contained in a public record relating to the Commonwealth Savers Plan or the Virginia College Opportunity Endowment and Fund.