Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB570 Compare Versions

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1	1	2009S0014-2 01/14/09
2	2	By: Lucio S.B. No. 570
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the financing of school district facilities and tax
8	8	relief for facilities debt.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. The heading to Chapter 46, Education Code, is
11	11	amended to read as follows:
12	12	CHAPTER 46. ASSISTANCE WITH INSTRUCTIONAL FACILITIES AND PROPERTY
13	13	TAX RELIEF FOR [PAYMENT OF] EXISTING DEBT
14	14	SECTION 2. The heading to Subchapter A, Chapter 46,
15	15	Education Code, is amended to read as follows:
16	16	SUBCHAPTER A. INITIAL [INSTRUCTIONAL] FACILITIES ALLOTMENT
17	17	SECTION 3. The heading to Section 46.003, Education Code,
18	18	is amended to read as follows:
19	19	Sec. 46.003. INITIAL SCHOOL FACILITIES ALLOTMENT.
20	20	SECTION 4. Subsections (a), (d), (e), and (h), Section
21	21	46.003, Education Code, are amended to read as follows:
22	22	(a) In the second year of the fiscal biennium in which the
23	23	debt is issued [For each year], except as provided by Section
24	24	[Sections] 46.005 [and 46.006], a school district is guaranteed a
25	25	specified amount per student in state and local funds for each cent
26	26	of tax effort, up to the maximum rate under Subsection (b), to pay
27	27	the principal of and interest on eligible bonds issued to
28	28	construct, acquire, renovate, or improve an instructional
29	29	facility. The amount of state support is determined by the formula:
30	30	FYA = (FYL X ADA X BTR X 100) - (BTR X (DPV/100))
31	31	where:
32	32	"FYA" is the guaranteed facilities yield amount of state
33	33	funds allocated to the district for the year;
34	34	"FYL" is the dollar amount guaranteed level of state and
35	35	local funds per student per cent of tax effort, which is the amount
36	36	of district tax revenue per student in average daily attendance per
37	37	cent of tax effort available to a district at the ____ percentile in
38	38	wealth per student in average daily attendance, as determined by
39	39	the commissioner in cooperation with the Legislative Budget Board,
40	40	[$35] or a greater amount for any year provided by appropriation;
41	41	"ADA" is the greater of the number of students in average
42	42	daily attendance, as determined under Section 42.005, in the
43	43	district or 400;
44	44	"BTR" is the district's bond tax rate for the current year,
45	45	which is determined by dividing the amount budgeted by the district
46	46	for payment of eligible bonds by the quotient of the district's
47	47	taxable value of property as determined under Subchapter M, Chapter
48	48	403, Government Code, or, if applicable, Section 42.2521, divided
49	49	by 100; and
50	50	"DPV" is the district's taxable value of property as
51	51	determined under Subchapter M, Chapter 403, Government Code, or, if
52	52	applicable, Section 42.2521.
53	53	(d) The amount budgeted by a district for payment of
54	54	eligible bonds may include:
55	55	(1) bond taxes collected in the current school year;
56	56	(2) bond taxes collected in a preceding school year in
57	57	excess of the amount necessary to pay the district's share of actual
58	58	debt service on bonds in that year, provided that the taxes were not
59	59	used to generate other state financial assistance for the district;
60	60	[or]
61	61	(3) maintenance and operations taxes collected in the
62	62	current school year or a preceding school year in excess of the
63	63	amount eligible to be used to generate other state financial
64	64	assistance for the district; or
65	65	(4) penalty and interest on delinquent taxes, interest
66	66	on bond tax revenue, or any other available local revenue that has
67	67	not otherwise been used to generate other state financial
68	68	assistance for the district.
69	69	(e) Bonds are eligible to be paid with state and local funds
70	70	under this section if[:
71	71	[(1) taxes to pay the principal of and interest on the
72	72	bonds were first levied in the 1997-1998 school year or a later
73	73	school year; and
74	74	[(2)] the bonds do not have a weighted average
75	75	maturity of less than eight years.
76	76	(h) To receive state assistance under this subchapter, a
77	77	school district must certify [apply] to the commissioner, in
78	78	accordance with rules adopted by the commissioner, the amount of
79	79	the payment due on the [before issuing] bonds that will be paid with
80	80	state assistance that year. [Until the bonds are fully paid or the
81	81	instructional facility is sold:
82	82	[(1) a school district is entitled to continue
83	83	receiving state assistance without reapplying to the commissioner;
84	84	and
85	85	[(2) the guaranteed level of state and local funds per
86	86	student per cent of tax effort applicable to the bonds may not be
87	87	reduced below the level provided for the year in which the bonds
88	88	were issued.]
89	89	SECTION 5. Section 46.005, Education Code, is amended to
90	90	read as follows:
91	91	Sec. 46.005. LIMITATION ON GUARANTEED AMOUNT. (a) The
92	92	guaranteed amount of state and local funds to which a school
93	93	district is entitled [for a new project that a district may be
94	94	awarded in any state fiscal biennium] under Section 46.003 [for a
95	95	school district] may not exceed the lesser of:
96	96	(1) the amount the actual debt service payments the
97	97	district makes in the biennium in which the bonds are issued; or
98	98	(2) the greater of:
99	99	(A) $________ [$100,000]; or
100	100	(B) the product of the number of students in
101	101	average daily attendance in the district multiplied by $_____
102	102	[$250].
103	103	(b) A school district may not receive assistance for a
104	104	project under this subchapter for more than one year. After that
105	105	period, the district is entitled to assistance for that project as
106	106	provided by Subchapter B.
107	107	SECTION 6. Subsection (b), Section 46.009, Education Code,
108	108	is amended to read as follows:
109	109	(b) The total amount of money to which a district is
110	110	entitled under this subchapter is a portion of the total amount of
111	111	entitlement under this chapter and is not a separate item for
112	112	appropriation. If the amount appropriated for purposes of this
113	113	subchapter for a year is less than the total amount determined under
114	114	Subsection (a) for that year, the commissioner shall:
115	115	(1) transfer from the Foundation School Program to the
116	116	instructional facilities program the amount by which the total
117	117	amount determined under Subsection (a) exceeds the amount
118	118	appropriated; and
119	119	(2) if, as a result of the transfer under Subdivision
120	120	(1), there are insufficient funds in the Foundation School Program
121	121	to fully pay for the program as required under Section 42.253,
122	122	reduce each district's foundation school fund allocations and
123	123	increase each district's foundation school fund allocations in the
124	124	following year in the manner provided by Section 42.253(h).
125	125	SECTION 7. The heading to Subchapter B, Chapter 46,
126	126	Education Code, is amended to read as follows:
127	127	SUBCHAPTER B. [ASSISTANCE WITH PAYMENT OF EXISTING] DEBT TAX
128	128	RELIEF
129	129	SECTION 8. The heading to Section 46.032, Education Code,
130	130	is amended to read as follows:
131	131	Sec. 46.032. DEBT TAX RELIEF ALLOTMENT.
132	132	SECTION 9. Section 46.032, Education Code, is amended by
133	133	amending Subsections (a) and (c) and adding Subsections (a-1),
134	134	(a-2), and (d) to read as follows:
135	135	(a) Each school district is guaranteed a specified amount
136	136	per student in state and local funds for each cent of tax effort to
137	137	pay the principal of and interest on eligible bonds. The amount of
138	138	state support, subject only to the maximum amount under Section
139	139	46.034, is determined by the formula:
140	140	DTRA [EDA] = (EDGL X ADA X EDTR X 100) - (EDTR X (DPV/100))
141	141	where:
142	142	"DTRA"["EDA"] is the amount of state funds to be allocated to
143	143	the district for compression of the [assistance with] existing debt
144	144	tax rate;
145	145	"EDGL" is the dollar amount guaranteed level of state and
146	146	local funds per student per cent of tax effort, which is the amount
147	147	of district tax revenue per student in average daily attendance at
148	148	the ____ percentile in wealth per student in average daily
149	149	attendance, as determined by the commissioner in cooperation with
150	150	the Legislative Budget Board, [$35] or a greater amount for any year
151	151	provided by appropriation;
152	152	"ADA" is the greater of the number of students in average
153	153	daily attendance, as determined under Section 42.005, in the
154	154	district or 400;
155	155	"EDTR" is the existing debt tax rate of the district, which is
156	156	determined by dividing the amount budgeted by the district for
157	157	payment of eligible bonds by the quotient of the district's taxable
158	158	value of property as determined under Subchapter M, Chapter 403,
159	159	Government Code, or, if applicable, under Section 42.2521, divided
160	160	by 100; and
161	161	"DPV" is the district's taxable value of property as
162	162	determined under Subchapter M, Chapter 403, Government Code, or, if
163	163	applicable, under Section 42.2521.
164	164	(a-1) The percentile in wealth per student described by
165	165	Subsection (a) for purposes of determining the dollar amount
166	166	guaranteed level ("EDGL") applies beginning with the 2016-2017
167	167	school year. For the 2009-2010 through 2015-2016 school years,
168	168	EDGL is determined as follows:
169	169	(1) for the 2009-2010 school year, EDGL is $35;
170	170	(2) for the 2010-2011 school year, EDGL is determined
171	171	using the ____ percentile in wealth per student;
172	172	(3) for the 2011-2012 school year, EDGL is determined
173	173	using the ____ percentile in wealth per student;
174	174	(4) for the 2012-2013 school year, EDGL is determined
175	175	using the ____ percentile in wealth per student;
176	176	(5) for the 2013-2014 school year, EDGL is determined
177	177	using the ____ percentile in wealth per student;
178	178	(6) for the 2014-2015 school year, EDGL is determined
179	179	using the ____ percentile in wealth per student; and
180	180	(7) for the 2015-2016 school year, EDGL is determined
181	181	using the ____ percentile in wealth per student.
182	182	(a-2) This subsection and Subsection (a-1) expire September
183	183	1, 2016.
184	184	(c) The amount budgeted by a district for payment of
185	185	eligible bonds may include:
186	186	(1) bond taxes collected in the current school year;
187	187	(2) bond taxes collected in a preceding school year in
188	188	excess of the amount necessary to pay the district's share of actual
189	189	debt service on bonds in that year, provided that the taxes were not
190	190	used to generate other state financial assistance for the district;
191	191	[or]
192	192	(3) maintenance and operations taxes collected in the
193	193	current school year or a preceding school year in excess of the
194	194	amount eligible to be used to generate other state financial
195	195	assistance for the district; or
196	196	(4) penalty and interest on delinquent taxes, interest
197	197	on bond tax revenue, or any other available local revenue that has
198	198	not otherwise been used to generate other state financial
199	199	assistance for the district.
200	200	(d) A school district must reduce the tax rate levied for
201	201	payment on the bonds by the percentage established by the
202	202	commissioner to reflect any increase in yield guaranteed under
203	203	Subsection (a) or increase in yield resulting from the higher
204	204	guarantee under this subchapter over the yield received prior to
205	205	eligibility under this subchapter.
206	206	SECTION 10. Section 46.033, Education Code, is amended to
207	207	read as follows:
208	208	Sec. 46.033. ELIGIBLE BONDS. Bonds, including bonds issued
209	209	under Section 45.006, are eligible to be paid with state and local
210	210	funds under this subchapter if:
211	211	(1) the district made payments on the bonds during the
212	212	final [2006-2007] school year of the preceding state fiscal
213	213	biennium;
214	214	(2) [or] taxes levied to pay the principal of and
215	215	interest on the bonds were included in the district's audited debt
216	216	service collections for that school year; [and]
217	217	(3) [(2)] the district certifies to the commissioner
218	218	during the final school year of the preceding state fiscal
219	219	biennium, in accordance with rules adopted by the commissioner, the
220	220	amount of payments due on the bonds in each year of the state's next
221	221	fiscal biennium; or
222	222	(4) the district received [does not receive] state
223	223	assistance under Subchapter A for payment of [the] principal and
224	224	interest on [the] bonds during the final school year of the
225	225	preceding state fiscal biennium.
226	226	SECTION 11. Section 46.034, Education Code, is amended to
227	227	read as follows:
228	228	Sec. 46.034. LIMITS ON ASSISTANCE. (a) The existing debt
229	229	tax rate ("EDTR") under Section 46.032 may not exceed $_____
230	230	[$0.29] per $100 of valuation, or a greater amount for any year
231	231	provided by appropriation.
232	232	(b) [The amount of state assistance to which a district is
233	233	entitled under this subchapter may not exceed the amount to which
234	234	the district would be entitled at the district's tax rate for the
235	235	payment of eligible bonds for the final year of the preceding state
236	236	fiscal biennium.
237	237	[(b-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (b), a school district is
238	238	entitled to state assistance under this subchapter based on the
239	239	district's tax rate for the current school year if the district
240	240	demonstrates to the commissioner's satisfaction that the district
241	241	meets the criteria under Section 46.006(c-2).
242	242	[(c)] If the amount required to pay the principal of and
243	243	interest on eligible bonds in a school year is less than the amount
244	244	of payments made by the district on the bonds during the final
245	245	[2006-2007] school year of the preceding state fiscal biennium or
246	246	the district's audited debt service collections for that school
247	247	year, the district may not receive aid in excess of the amount that,
248	248	when added to the district's local revenue for the school year,
249	249	equals the amount required to pay the principal of and interest on
250	250	the bonds.
251	251	SECTION 12. The heading to Subchapter C, Chapter 46,
252	252	Education Code, is amended to read as follows:
253	253	SUBCHAPTER C. FINANCING AND REFINANCING
254	254	SECTION 13. Subchapter C, Chapter 46, Education Code, is
255	255	amended by adding Section 46.051 to read as follows:
256	256	Sec. 46.051. DETERMINATION BY THE COMMISSIONER OF YIELDS
257	257	AND COMPRESSION RATES. (a) Prior to the beginning of each school
258	258	year, the commissioner, in cooperation with the Legislative Budget
259	259	Board, shall estimate the yields to be guaranteed under Subchapters
260	260	A and B.
261	261	(b) As required under Subchapter B, the commissioner shall
262	262	determine the tax rate compression ratio inverse to the increase in
263	263	guaranteed yield over the prior year.
264	264	(c) Each school district shall reduce its prior bond tax
265	265	rate to reflect the appropriate compression.
266	266	SECTION 14. Section 46.061, Education Code, is amended to
267	267	read as follows:
268	268	Sec. 46.061. AUTHORITY OF COMMISSIONER OVER REFINANCING.
269	269	[(a)] The commissioner by rule may provide for the payment of state
270	270	assistance under this chapter to refinance school district debt. A
271	271	refinancing may not increase the cost to the state of providing the
272	272	assistance.
273	273	[(b) The commissioner may allocate state assistance
274	274	provided for a refinancing to Subchapter A, Subchapter B, or both,
275	275	as appropriate.]
276	276	SECTION 15. Sections 46.006 and 46.011, Education Code, are
277	277	repealed.
278	278	SECTION 16. This Act takes effect immediately if it
279	279	receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
280	280	house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
281	281	If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate
282	282	effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2009.