82R6879 PAM-F
By: Shelton H.B. No. 1833
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to notice requirements for certain hearings and meetings
of the board of trustees of a school district.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter D, Chapter 11, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 11.179 to read as follows:
Sec. 11.179. UNIFORM NOTICE FOR CERTAIN BOARD HEARINGS AND
MEETINGS. (a) The board of trustees of a school district shall
provide notice of a hearing under Sections 39.083 and 39.306 and a
meeting under Section 44.004 by:
(1) sending the notice through e-mail to media serving
the district;
(2) prominently posting the entire notice, in addition
to any required documents or summaries, on the district's Internet
website;
(3) making the notice, in addition to any required
documents or summaries, available for public inspection at the
district's central administrative office; and
(4) making the notice, in addition to any required
documents or summaries, available for public inspection at each
campus in the district.
(b) In addition to providing notice as required by
Subsection (a), the board may also provide notice as permitted by
Section 39.083, 39.306, or 44.004, as applicable.
SECTION 2. Section 39.083(d), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(d) The board of trustees of each school district shall hold
a public hearing on the report. The board shall give notice of the
hearing to owners of real property in the district and to parents of
district students. In addition to other notice required by law,
notice of the hearing:
(1) may [must] be provided[:
[(1)] to a newspaper of general circulation in the
district; and
(2) must be provided as prescribed by Section
11.179(a) [through electronic mail to media serving the district].
SECTION 3. Section 39.306(c), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(c) The board of trustees shall hold a hearing for public
discussion of the report. The board of trustees shall give notice
of the hearing to property owners in the district and parents of and
other persons standing in parental relation to a district student.
The notification may [must] include notice to a newspaper of
general circulation in the district and must include notice as
prescribed by Section 11.179(a) [to electronic media serving the
district]. After the hearing the report shall be widely
disseminated within the district in a manner to be determined under
rules adopted by the commissioner.
SECTION 4. Sections 44.004(b), (c), (i), and (j), Education
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(b) The president shall provide for [the publication of]
notice of the budget and proposed tax rate meeting as prescribed by
Section 11.179(a) and may provide for publication of the notice in a
daily, weekly, or biweekly newspaper published in the district. If
no daily, weekly, or biweekly newspaper is published in the
district, the president may [shall] provide for the publication of
notice in at least one newspaper of general circulation in the
county in which the district's central administrative office is
located. Notice under this subsection shall be provided [published]
not earlier than the 30th day or later than the 10th day before the
date of the meeting [hearing].
(c) A [The] notice of public meeting to discuss and adopt
the budget and the proposed tax rate published in a newspaper under
Subsection (b) may not be smaller than one-quarter page of a
standard-size or a tabloid-size newspaper, and the headline on the
notice must be in 18-point or larger type. Subject to Subsection
(d), [the] notice required under this section must:
(1) contain a statement in the following form:
"NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING TO DISCUSS BUDGET AND PROPOSED TAX RATE
"The (name of school district) will hold a public meeting at
(time, date, year) in (name of room, building, physical location,
city, state). The purpose of this meeting is to discuss the school
district's budget that will determine the tax rate that will be
adopted. Public participation in the discussion is invited." The
statement of the purpose of the meeting must be in bold type. In
reduced type, the notice must state: "The tax rate that is
ultimately adopted at this meeting or at a separate meeting at a
later date may not exceed the proposed rate shown below unless the
district provides [publishes a] revised notice containing the same
information and comparisons set out below and holds another public
meeting to discuss the revised notice.";
(2) contain a section entitled "Comparison of Proposed
Budget with Last Year's Budget," which must show the difference,
expressed as a percent increase or decrease, as applicable, in the
amounts budgeted for the preceding fiscal year and the amount
budgeted for the fiscal year that begins in the current tax year for
each of the following:
(A) maintenance and operations;
(B) debt service; and
(C) total expenditures;
(3) contain a section entitled "Total Appraised Value
and Total Taxable Value," which must show the total appraised value
and the total taxable value of all property and the total appraised
value and the total taxable value of new property taxable by the
district in the preceding tax year and the current tax year as
calculated under Section 26.04, Tax Code;
(4) contain a statement of the total amount of the
outstanding and unpaid bonded indebtedness of the school district;
(5) contain a section entitled "Comparison of Proposed
Rates with Last Year's Rates," which must:
(A) show in rows the tax rates described by
Subparagraphs (i)-(iii), expressed as amounts per $100 valuation of
property, for columns entitled "Maintenance & Operations,"
"Interest & Sinking Fund," and "Total," which is the sum of
"Maintenance & Operations" and "Interest & Sinking Fund":
(i) the school district's "Last Year's
Rate";
(ii) the "Rate to Maintain Same Level of
Maintenance & Operations Revenue & Pay Debt Service," which:
(a) in the case of "Maintenance &
Operations," is the tax rate that, when applied to the current
taxable value for the district, as certified by the chief appraiser
under Section 26.01, Tax Code, and as adjusted to reflect changes
made by the chief appraiser as of the time the notice is prepared,
would impose taxes in an amount that, when added to state funds to
be distributed to the district under Chapter 42, would provide the
same amount of maintenance and operations taxes and state funds
distributed under Chapter 42 per student in average daily
attendance for the applicable school year that was available to the
district in the preceding school year; and
(b) in the case of "Interest & Sinking
Fund," is the tax rate that, when applied to the current taxable
value for the district, as certified by the chief appraiser under
Section 26.01, Tax Code, and as adjusted to reflect changes made by
the chief appraiser as of the time the notice is prepared, and when
multiplied by the district's anticipated collection rate, would
impose taxes in an amount that, when added to state funds to be
distributed to the district under Chapter 46 and any excess taxes
collected to service the district's debt during the preceding tax
year but not used for that purpose during that year, would provide
the amount required to service the district's debt; and
(iii) the "Proposed Rate";
(B) contain fourth and fifth columns aligned with
the columns required by Paragraph (A) that show, for each row
required by Paragraph (A):
(i) the "Local Revenue per Student," which
is computed by multiplying the district's total taxable value of
property, as certified by the chief appraiser for the applicable
school year under Section 26.01, Tax Code, and as adjusted to
reflect changes made by the chief appraiser as of the time the
notice is prepared, by the total tax rate, and dividing the product
by the number of students in average daily attendance in the
district for the applicable school year; and
(ii) the "State Revenue per Student," which
is computed by determining the amount of state aid received or to be
received by the district under Chapters 42, 43, and 46 and dividing
that amount by the number of students in average daily attendance in
the district for the applicable school year; and
(C) contain an asterisk after each calculation
for "Interest & Sinking Fund" and a footnote to the section that, in
reduced type, states "The Interest & Sinking Fund tax revenue is
used to pay for bonded indebtedness on construction, equipment, or
both. The bonds, and the tax rate necessary to pay those bonds,
were approved by the voters of this district.";
(6) contain a section entitled "Comparison of Proposed
Levy with Last Year's Levy on Average Residence," which must:
(A) show in rows the information described by
Subparagraphs (i)-(iv), rounded to the nearest dollar, for columns
entitled "Last Year" and "This Year":
(i) "Average Market Value of Residences,"
determined using the same group of residences for each year;
(ii) "Average Taxable Value of Residences,"
determined after taking into account the limitation on the
appraised value of residences under Section 23.23, Tax Code, and
after subtracting all homestead exemptions applicable in each year,
other than exemptions available only to disabled persons or persons
65 years of age or older or their surviving spouses, and using the
same group of residences for each year;
(iii) "Last Year's Rate Versus Proposed
Rate per $100 Value"; and
(iv) "Taxes Due on Average Residence,"
determined using the same group of residences for each year; and
(B) contain the following information: "Increase
(Decrease) in Taxes" expressed in dollars and cents, which is
computed by subtracting the "Taxes Due on Average Residence" for
the preceding tax year from the "Taxes Due on Average Residence" for
the current tax year;
(7) contain the following statement in bold print:
"Under state law, the dollar amount of school taxes imposed on the
residence of a person 65 years of age or older or of the surviving
spouse of such a person, if the surviving spouse was 55 years of age
or older when the person died, may not be increased above the amount
paid in the first year after the person turned 65, regardless of
changes in tax rate or property value.";
(8) contain the following statement in bold print:
"Notice of Rollback Rate: The highest tax rate the district can
adopt before requiring voter approval at an election is (the school
district rollback rate determined under Section 26.08, Tax
Code). This election will be automatically held if the district
adopts a rate in excess of the rollback rate of (the school district
rollback rate)."; and
(9) contain a section entitled "Fund Balances," which
must include the estimated amount of interest and sinking fund
balances and the estimated amount of maintenance and operation or
general fund balances remaining at the end of the current fiscal
year that are not encumbered with or by corresponding debt
obligation, less estimated funds necessary for the operation of the
district before the receipt of the first payment under Chapter 42 in
the succeeding school year.
(i) A school district that uses a certified estimate, as
authorized by Subsection (h), may adopt a budget at the public
meeting designated in the notice prepared using the estimate, but
the district may not adopt a tax rate before the district receives
the certified appraisal roll for the district required by Section
26.01(a), Tax Code. After receipt of the certified appraisal roll,
the district must provide [publish a] revised notice and hold
another public meeting before the district may adopt a tax rate that
exceeds:
(1) the rate proposed in the notice prepared using the
estimate; or
(2) the district's rollback rate determined under
Section 26.08, Tax Code, using the certified appraisal roll.
(j) Notwithstanding Subsections (g), (h), and (i), a school
district may adopt a budget after the district adopts a tax rate for
the tax year in which the fiscal year covered by the budget begins
if the district elects to adopt a tax rate before receiving the
certified appraisal roll for the district as provided by Section
26.05(g), Tax Code. If a school district elects to adopt a tax rate
before adopting a budget, the district must provide [publish]
notice and hold a meeting for the purpose of discussing the proposed
tax rate as provided by this section. Following adoption of the
tax rate, the district must provide [publish] notice and hold
another public meeting before the district may adopt a budget. The
comptroller shall prescribe the language and format to be used in
the notices. The school district may use the certified estimate of
taxable value in preparing a notice under this subsection.
SECTION 5. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
notice for a hearing or meeting for which notice is required to be
provided on or after the effective date of this Act. A notice for a
hearing or meeting for which notice is required to be provided
before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in
effect when the notice is required to be provided, and the former
law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 6. 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, 2011.