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136G.05 MINNESOTA OFFICE OF HIGHER EDUCATION.
    Subdivision 1. Responsibilities. (a) The director shall establish the rules, terms, and
conditions for the plan, subject to the requirements of sections 136G.01 to 136G.13.
(b) The director shall prescribe the application forms, procedures, and other requirements
that apply to the plan.
    Subd. 2. Accounts-type plan. The office must establish the plan and the plan must be
operated as an accounts-type plan that permits persons to save for qualified higher education
expenses incurred at any eligible educational institution, regardless of whether it is private
or public or whether it is located within or outside of the state. A separate account must be
maintained for each beneficiary for whom contributions are made.
    Subd. 3. Consultation with State Board of Investment. In designing and establishing
the plan's requirements and in negotiating or entering into contracts with third parties under
subdivision 8, the director shall consult with the executive director. The director and the executive
director shall establish an annual fee, equal to a percentage of the average daily net assets of the
plan, to be imposed on participants to recover the costs of administration, record keeping, and
investment management as provided in subdivision 9 and section 136G.07, subdivision 4.
    Subd. 4. Plan to comply with federal law. The director shall ensure that the plan meets
the requirements for a qualified tuition program under section 529(b)(1)(A)(ii) of the Internal
Revenue Code. The director may request a private letter ruling or rulings from the Internal
Revenue Service or take any other steps to ensure that the plan qualifies under section 529 of the
Internal Revenue Code or other relevant provisions of federal law.
    Subd. 5. Nonqualified distributions and matching grants. There cannot be a nonqualified
withdrawal of matching grant funds and any refund of matching grants must be returned to the
plan.
    Subd. 6. Three-year period for withdrawal of grants. A matching grant deposited in the
account under section 136G.11 may not be withdrawn within three years of the establishment
of the account of the beneficiary. In calculating the three-year period, the period held in another
account is included, if the account includes a rollover from another account under section
529(c)(3)(C) of the Internal Revenue Code.
    Subd. 7. Marketing. The director shall make parents and other interested individuals aware
of the availability and advantages of the program as a way to save for higher education costs. The
cost of these promotional efforts may not be funded with fees imposed on participants.
    Subd. 8. Administration. The director shall administer the program, including accepting and
processing applications, maintaining account records, making payments, making matching grants
under section 136G.11, and undertaking any other necessary tasks to administer the program. The
office may contract with one or more third parties to carry out some or all of these administrative
duties, including providing incentives and marketing the program. The office and the board may
jointly contract with third-party providers, if the office and board determine that it is desirable to
contract with the same entity or entities for administration and investment management.
    Subd. 9. Authority to impose fees. The office may impose annual fees, as provided in
subdivision 3, on participants in the plan to recover the costs of administration. The office must
use its best efforts to keep these fees as low as possible, consistent with efficient administration,
so that the returns on savings invested in the plan will be as high as possible.
    Subd. 10. Data. Account owner data, account data, and data on beneficiaries of accounts are
private data on individuals or nonpublic data as defined in section 13.02, except that the names
and addresses of the beneficiaries of accounts that receive matching grants are public.
History: 1997 c 183 art 2 s 14; 1999 c 214 art 2 s 8; 2001 c 202 s 9; 1Sp2001 c 1 art 3 s
4-9,23; 2003 c 133 art 3 s 8-10; 2005 c 107 art 2 s 37,60

Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes