§38-14-9. Administration of accounts.

(a) Subject to rules promulgated by the department, a fiduciary organization has sole authority over, and responsibility for, the administration of individual development accounts. The responsibility of the fiduciary organization extends to all aspects of the account program, including marketing to all eligible individuals and families, soliciting matching funds, counseling account owners, providing financial literacy education, and conducting required verification and compliance activities. The fiduciary organization may establish program provisions as the organization believes necessary to ensure account owner compliance with this chapter.

(b) A fiduciary organization may act in partnership with other entities, including businesses, government agencies, corporations, nonprofit organizations, community action programs, community development corporations, housing authorities and faith-based entities, to assist in the fulfillment of its responsibilities under this chapter.

(c) A fiduciary organization may use a reasonable portion of money allocated by the Legislature to the Individual Development Account Program for administration, operation and research, and evaluation purposes. A fiduciary organization may not expend more than 15 percent of allocated funds for those purposes.

(d) A fiduciary organization selected by the department to administer funds allocated by the State of Alabama for Individual Development Account purposes shall provide the department an annual report based on regularly collected data of the fiduciary organization's Individual Development Account Program activity. The report shall be filed not later than 90 days after the end of the fiscal year. The report shall include, but is not limited to, the following:

(1) The number of individual development accounts administered by the fiduciary organization.

(2) The amount of deposits and matching funds for each account.

(3) The asset purchase goal of each account.

(4) The number of withdrawals made.

(5) Any other information the department may require for the purpose of determining whether the Individual Development Account Program is achieving the purposes for which it was established.

(e) The department shall make all reasonable and necessary rules to ensure the fiduciary organization's compliance with this chapter.

(f) Financial institutions holding individual development accounts, at a minimum, shall:

(1) Keep the account in the name of the account owner.

(2) Permit deposits to be made in the account.

(3) Require the account to earn a market rate of interest.

(4) Maintain the individual development accounts as fee free.

(5) Permit the account owner, after obtaining the written authorization of the fiduciary organization, to withdraw money from the account for any qualified purpose.

(Act 2011-641, p. 1626, §9.)