Gov. McAuliffe to Sign Del. Eileen Filler-Corn's ABLE Act Bill Tuesday

Del. Eileen Filler-Corn will be joined by several supporters from the 41st District to witness Governor Terry McAuliffe sign HB 2306 the Virginia Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act.

Del. Filler-Corn’s HB 2306 was passed by the 2015 General Assembly Session on Feb. 23. The ABLE Act will allow individuals with disabilities and their families to set up 529-like tax exempt accounts so they can save for future living expenses. This bill follows federal authorizing language that allows states to set up these accounts for their residents.

Virginia is the first state, since the federal bill passed in December 2014 to set up these accounts.

Joining Del. Filler-Corn will be her constituent, Catherine Beck, whose husband Stephen developed the idea for ABLE Accounts and worked tirelessly for 8 years to pass this bill at the federal level for his daughter Natalie who has Down syndrome. Stephen passed away unexpectedly after the federal bill was signed into law, and it has since been renamed the Stephen E. Beck Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act.

This bill has special origins in the 41st District with the Becks and resident John Ariale, who was drafting the actual language of the federal legislation behind the scenes. Del. Filler-Corn continued the work of her constituents by introducing and passing the Virginia ABLE Act this year in the General Assembly.

The ceremonial signing will be held in conjunction with the National Down Syndrome Society’s 7th annual Buddy Walk® Conference at the Renaissance Arlington Capital View Hotel (2800 S Potomac Ave Arlington, VA 22202).