Senate committee backs bill to let Idaho join multistate ABLE consortium

The Senate Health and Welfare Committee voted to send House Bill 26 to the Senate floor with a do-pass recommendation after hearing testimony on establishing an Idaho ABLE (Achieving a Better Life Experience) savings program through a multistate consortium.

State Treasurer Julie Ellsworth told the committee the bill would allow Idaho to join an existing consortium that spreads administrative and investment costs across many states; that, she said, would lower fees for account holders and let Idaho capture a portion of account fees to support outreach and financial-literacy work in the state. "By joining a consortium," Ellsworth said, "it will take [fees] down to 19 to 33% basis points" from what she described as a current range of "45 to 59% basis point[s]" charged by some out-of-state programs.

ABLE accounts let people with disabilities save for…