S.J.R. No. 7 SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 1-1 proposing constitutional amendments relating to the support and 1-2 maintenance of public schools. 1-3 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-4 SECTION 1. Article VII of the Texas Constitution is amended 1-5 by adding Section 3-c to read as follows: 1-6 Sec. 3-c. (a) The legislature may redistribute among other 1-7 school districts ad valorem taxes levied and collected by a school 1-8 district, as determined by general law. 1-9 (b) The legislature may create county education districts 1-10 with the taxable property of existing school districts in one or 1-11 more counties combined. A county education district may levy, 1-12 collect, and distribute ad valorem taxes as authorized by general 1-13 law. The legislature may set the rate of the tax, as determined by 1-14 general law, to be imposed in a school district or county education 1-15 district or may authorize the board of trustees of each school 1-16 district or county education district to set the rate, provided 1-17 that the rate of county education district ad valorem taxes may not 1-18 exceed $1.00 per $100 valuation of taxable property, as determined 1-19 by law, unless a higher rate is approved by the voters of the 1-20 district. 1-21 (c) The amount redistributed among school districts by the 1-22 legislature under Subsection (a) of this section and effectively 1-23 redistributed within a county through county education districts 1-24 under Subsection (b) of this section may not exceed 2.75 percent of 2-1 the sum of the state revenue appropriated for public schools and 2-2 the revenue from local ad valorem taxes levied and collected for 2-3 public schools. For purposes of this section, state revenue does 2-4 not include revenue from ad valorem taxes, revenue for the 2-5 provision of free textbooks, or contributions to a retirement 2-6 system. 2-7 (d) This section does not affect the distribution of the 2-8 available school fund under Article VII, Section 5, of this 2-9 constitution. 2-10 SECTION 2. Article VII of the Texas Constitution is amended 2-11 by adding Section 8a to read as follows: 2-12 Sec. 8a. (a) Except for state educational mandates imposed 2-13 in compliance with this constitution or federal law, or unless 2-14 enacted by a vote of at least two-thirds of the members elected to 2-15 each house, a school district may not be required to comply with an 2-16 obligation requiring expenditure of school district funds unless 2-17 the obligation is fully funded. 2-18 (b) The legislature shall provide by law a procedure for 2-19 determining whether an obligation is fully funded for purposes of 2-20 Subsection (a) of this section. In the absence of such a 2-21 procedure, at the request of the board of trustees of a school 2-22 district the comptroller of public accounts shall determine whether 2-23 or not an obligation is fully funded for purposes of Subsection (a) 2-24 of this section. 2-25 (c) This section applies only to state educational mandates 2-26 enacted after December 31, 1993. 2-27 SECTION 3. The constitutional amendment proposed by Section 3-1 1 of this joint resolution shall be submitted to the voters at an 3-2 election to be held May 1, 1993. The ballot shall be printed to 3-3 provide for voting for or against the proposition: "The 3-4 constitutional amendment allowing limited redistribution of ad 3-5 valorem taxes for schools, authorizing the legislature or local 3-6 districts to set a minimum tax rate in county education districts, 3-7 and placing a cap on the ad valorem tax levied by county education 3-8 districts." 3-9 SECTION 4. The constitutional amendment proposed by Section 3-10 2 of this joint resolution shall be submitted to the voters at an 3-11 election to be held May 1, 1993. The ballot shall be printed to 3-12 provide for voting for or against the proposition: "The 3-13 constitutional amendment exempting a school district from the 3-14 obligation to comply with unfunded state educational mandates."