2011 Wyoming Statutes
TITLE 21 - EDUCATION
CHAPTER 16 - HIGHER EDUCATION GENERALLY
21-16-815. Program requirements.

(a) If a program is established pursuant to this article, the program shall be operated through the use of accounts. Opening of accounts, the contents of account applications and minimum contributions to accounts shall be in accordance with rule and regulation of the treasurer.

(b) Contributions to accounts and methods of contribution payments shall be governed by rule and regulation of the treasurer. Contributions to accounts shall be made in cash only and not in property.

(c) Account owners may withdraw all or part of the balance from an account on sixty (60) days notice, or a shorter period as may be authorized by the treasurer, under rules prescribed by the treasurer. These rules shall include provisions that will generally enable the treasurer or program manager to determine if a withdrawal is a nonqualified withdrawal or a qualified withdrawal. The rules may, but need not, require one (1) or more of the following:

(i) Account owners seeking to make a qualified withdrawal or other withdrawal that is not a nonqualified withdrawal shall provide certifications, copies of bills for qualified higher education expenses or other supporting material;

(ii) Qualified withdrawals from an account shall be made to an eligible educational institution; or

(iii) Withdrawals not meeting certain requirements shall be treated as nonqualified withdrawals by the program manager, and if these withdrawals are subsequently determined qualified withdrawals, the account owner shall seek any refund of penalties directly from the treasurer.

(d) An account owner may change the designated beneficiary of an account in accordance with rules and regulations of the treasurer.

(e) The transfer of all or a portion of an account to another account of which the original designated beneficiary is a member of the family of the transferee designated beneficiary shall be in accordance with rules and regulations of the state treasurer.

(f) Changes in designated beneficiaries and rollovers shall be in accordance with rule and regulation of the state treasurer.

(g) Repealed by Laws 2002, Ch. 6, 2.

(h) The treasurer, by rule, may establish a penalty for nonqualified withdrawals, if the treasurer determines that a penalty must be established for purposes of qualifying the program as a qualified tuition program under section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code. Any penalties under this subsection shall be paid to the treasurer for use in operating the program and for state student financial aid.

(j) Repealed By Laws 2002, Ch. 6, 2.

(k) If an account owner makes a nonqualified withdrawal and no penalty amount is withheld pursuant to subsection (h) of this section or the amount withheld was less than the amount required to be withheld under that subsection for nonqualified withdrawals, the account owner shall pay the unpaid portion of the penalty to the trust at the time the account owner files his federal income tax return for the taxable year of the withdrawal. If the account owner does not file a federal income tax return, the account owner shall pay the unpaid portion of the penalty to the trust on the federal income tax due date. In no case shall the unpaid portion of the penalty be paid after the date for filing the federal income tax return taking into account any authorized extensions.

(m) Separate records and accounting shall be maintained for each account for each designated beneficiary.

(n) No contributor to, account owner of or designated beneficiary of any account may direct the investment of any contributions to an account or the earnings from the account.

(o) The transfer of accounts from one (1) financial institution to another financial institution, if the authority of a financial institution to hold accounts has been terminated by the treasurer, shall be in accordance with rules and regulations of the treasurer.

(p) Neither an account owner nor a designated beneficiary may use an interest in an account as security for a loan. Any pledge of an interest in an account is of no force and effect.

(q) The treasurer shall adopt rules and regulations to prevent contributions on behalf of a designated beneficiary in excess of those necessary to pay the qualified higher education expenses of a designated beneficiary. The rules shall address the following:

(i) Procedures for aggregating the total balances of multiple accounts established for a designated beneficiary;

(ii) The establishment of a maximum total contribution that may be held in accounts for a designated beneficiary;

(iii) Requirements that persons who contribute to an account certify that to the best of their knowledge the balance in all qualified state tuition programs, as defined in section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code, of which the designated beneficiary is the designated beneficiary, does not exceed the greater of:

(A) A maximum college savings amount established by the treasurer from time to time; or

(B) The cost in current dollars of qualified higher education expenses that the contributor reasonably anticipates the designated beneficiary will incur.

(iv) Requirements that any excess balances with respect to a designated beneficiary be promptly withdrawn in a nonqualified withdrawal or rolled over to another account in accordance with this section.

(r) If there is any distribution from an account to any person or for the benefit of any person during a calendar year, the distribution shall be reported to the internal revenue service and the account owner or the designated beneficiary to the extent required by federal law.

(s) The financial institution shall provide statements to each account owner at least once each year within thirty-one (31) days after the end of the relevant twelve (12) month period. The statement shall identify the contributions made during the preceding twelve (12) month period, the total contributions made through the end of the period, the value of the account as of the end of this period, distributions made during this period and any other matters that the treasurer requires be reported to the account owner.

(t) Statements and information returns relating to accounts shall be prepared and filed to the extent required by federal or state tax law.

(u) Any organization described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or any local or state governmental entity may open and become the account owner of an account to fund scholarships for any person whose identity will be determined upon disbursement. To the extent authorized by federal law, the treasurer may adopt rules and regulations authorizing other nongovernmental entities to open and become an account owner of an account to fund scholarships for any person whose identity will be determined upon disbursement. The trust shall separately account for any amounts received from an entity pursuant to this subsection.