On June 12th, the floor of the House of Representatives passed the bill 116/14, which was redrafted by the Conciliation Committee specially set up for this purpose. This committee, composed by senators and representatives, drafted the bill again after it was declared unenforceable by the Constitutional Court in January this year. The initiative regulates how inactive bank accounts will be used. The floor of the Senate had already passed the bill on June 6th. The initiative is now ready to be signed by the President.

The initiative establishes that the balances of bank accounts inactive for three consecutive years and that exceed the equivalent value of US $ 29 can be accesed by government. With the money raised, a fund administered by the Colombian Institute of Educational Credit and Technical Studies Abroad (Icetex) will be created. It will grant scholarships and financing credits to promote the quality of the Institutions of Higher Education.
The original bill was enacted Law of the Republic in February 2016. However, the Attorney General of the Nation requested the Constitutional Court to overturn the law due to a procedural defect. Specifically, it was alleged that the final version of the law was not released (after modifications discussed in the plenary sessions) 24 hours before the final vote. In January of this year, the Constitutional Court approved this claim. A Conciliation Committee had to be formed to reformulate the bill so that the both Chambers of Congress could discuss and vote on it again.