Bipartisan legislation introduced in Congress in January could make 529 college savings plans more attractive, versatile tools. The same for ABLE (Achieving a Better Life Experience) accounts, which help individuals with disabilities and their families save for and pay for disability-related expenses including education, housing, transportation and health care.

H.R. 529, the “529 and ABLE Account Improvement Act of 2017,” provides tax benefits that make it easier for employers to establish payroll deduction programs for 529 plans and ABLE accounts. Funds in 529 plans could be used to pay back student loans or make charitable donations without incurring tax penalties. The bill also removes restrictions on the frequency of investment changes in 529 plans, now limited to twice a year, and permits tax-free rollovers between 529 plans and ABLE accounts.

Plan providers recently shared their enthusiasm for the new legislation during phone conversations with Financial Advisor.

“Anytime we get legislation that puts 529s in the forefront, we get excited about it because it puts more of a lens on the product, the industry and the need to save,” said Steve Dombrower, senior vice president of advisor strategy and investment management at Ascensus College Savings, which provides program management and administration services for 34 plans across 18 states. “Anything the industry can do to enhance the 529 product and make it more flexible is a good thing.”

Dombrower thinks the H.R. 529 changes, which offer greater ease of access and flexibility, will encourage more people to set up and contribute to 529 accounts. He is pleased the bill has bipartisan support.

Richard Polimeni, director of Education Savings Programs for Bank of America Merrill Lynch, which distributes 20 state 529 savings plans and also manages Maine’s NextGen College Investing Plan, is also hopeful the legislation will be passed.

“It would be impossible for me or anybody else, I think, to say when this could be taken up or would be taken up,” said Polimeni, who chairs the College Savings Foundation, a Washington D.C.-based nonprofit that builds public awareness of and provides public policy support for 529 plans. However, “We know Congress has tax reform as a high priority,” he says, and will consider the current education tax incentives in the tax code.

Although the Trump administration hasn’t expressed specific support for H.R. 529, says Polemi, “Its general comments around tax simplification, consolidation and providing more incentives to save sort of fit in with that agenda.”

The legislation also fits in pretty well with what parents say they’d like to see the new president and Congress do regarding 529 college savings plans, according to the 2016 Parent Survey from the College Savings Foundation.

The survey asked parents to rank a series of choices. Their responses, in order of preference with the percentage who made it their number one pick: All people are able to save in 529 plans regardless of income (40 percent); Provide incentives for employers to help employees save in 529s (29 percent), Unused funds saved in 529s should be eligible for rollover into IRAs (20 percent), and Allow 529 contributions to be eligible for the current Saver’s Credit (13 percent).