By: Seliger S.B. No. 2274
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the authority of a school district to impose ad valorem
taxes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 26.08, Tax Code, is amended by adding
Subsection (p) to read as follows:
(p) Notwithstanding Subsections (i), (n), and (o), if for
the preceding tax year the district adopted a maintenance and
operations tax rate that was less than the district's effective
maintenance and operations tax rate for that preceding tax year,
the rollback tax rate of the district for the current tax year is
calculated as if the district adopted a maintenance and operations
tax rate for the preceding tax year that was equal to the district's
effective maintenance and operations tax rate for that preceding
tax year.
SECTION 2. Subsection (a), Section 45.001, Education Code,
is amended to read as follows:
(a) The governing board of an independent school district,
including the city council or commission that has jurisdiction over
a municipally controlled independent school district, the
governing board of a rural high school district, and the
commissioners court of a county, on behalf of each common school
district under its jurisdiction, may:
(1) issue bonds for:
(A) the construction, acquisition, and equipment
of school buildings in the district;
(B) the acquisition of property or the
refinancing of property financed under a contract entered under
Subchapter A, Chapter 271, Local Government Code, regardless of
whether payment obligations under the contract are due in the
current year or a future year;
(C) the purchase of the necessary sites for
school buildings; and
(D) the purchase of new school buses; and
(2) may levy, pledge, assess, and collect annual ad
valorem taxes sufficient to pay the principal of and interest on the
bonds as or before the principal and interest become due, subject to
Section 45.003.
SECTION 2. (a) The change in law made by this Act applies
to the ad valorem tax rate of a school district beginning with the
2009 tax year, except as provided by Subsection (b) of this section.
(b) If the governing body of a school district adopted an ad
valorem tax rate for the school district for the 2009 tax year
before the effective date of this Act, the change in law made by
this Act applies to the ad valorem tax rate of that school district
beginning with the 2010 tax year, and the law in effect when the tax
rate was adopted applies to the 2009 tax year with respect to that
school district.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2009.