By: Villarreal H.B. No. 3634
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to including additional territory in the state in a junior
college district.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 130.003(b), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) To be eligible for and to receive a proportionate share
of the appropriation, a public junior college must:
(1) be certified as a public junior college as
prescribed in Section 61.063;
(2) offer a minimum of 24 semester hours of vocational
and/or terminal courses;
(3) have complied with all existing laws, rules, and
regulations governing the establishment and maintenance of public
junior colleges;
(4) collect, from each full-time and part-time student
enrolled, matriculation and other session fees in the amounts
required by law or in the amounts set by the governing board of the
junior college district as authorized by this title;
(5) grant, when properly applied for, the scholarships
and tuition exemptions provided for in this code; and
(6) [for a public junior college established on or
after September 1, 1986,] levy and collect ad valorem taxes as
provided by law for the operation and maintenance of the public
junior college.
SECTION 2. Section 130.0032(c), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(c) The governing board of a public junior college district
may allow a person who resides outside the district to pay tuition
and fees at a rate less than the rate applicable to other persons
residing outside the district, but not less than the rate
applicable to a student who resides in the district, if the person[:
[(1) resides within the service area of the district;
[(2) does not reside in an independent school district
that meets the criteria of the coordinating board for the
establishment of a junior college district under Section 130.013;
and
[(3)] demonstrates financial need in accordance with
rules adopted by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
SECTION 3. Section 130.061, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 130.061. INCLUSION OF TERRITORY IN [EXTENSION OF
BOUNDARIES OF A] JUNIOR COLLEGE DISTRICT [COEXTENSIVE WITH AN
INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT]. (a) In this section, "coordinating
board" means the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
(b) Not later than January 1, 2013, the registered voters of
a county or part of a county that is not located in a junior college
district may petition to join an existing junior college district
or to establish a new junior college district under the other
provisions of this chapter.
(c) This section does not apply to a county in which a public
state college or public technical institute, as those terms are
defined by Section 61.003, is located.
(d) If a county or portion of a county is not located in a
junior college district as of January 1, 2013, the coordinating
board shall take action as provided by this section to include that
territory in a junior college district not later than January 1,
2016. For that purpose, the coordinating board shall adopt rules
prescribing procedures and prerequisites for establishing a new
junior college district or for annexing territory to an existing
junior college district in a manner that provides the greatest
benefit to the state and the residents of the territory involved.
(e) In adopting rules under this section, the coordinating
board shall consider:
(1) the scholastic population and taxable property
valuation of the territory;
(2) existing junior college district service areas;
(3) the location of existing junior college districts
and of the campuses, branch campuses, and other facilities and
programs of those districts;
(4) the efficient delivery of services and the
prevention of duplication of services; and
(5) the preferences of the residents of the territory
as expressed by any means, including at public hearings or through
petitions. [The district boundaries of an independent school
district junior college shall automatically be extended so that the
boundary lines of the two districts, independent school district
and junior college district, shall remain identical when:
[(1) the junior college district was created with the
same boundary lines as an independent school district;
[(2) the boundaries of the independent school district
are extended by consolidation, attachment of territory, or
otherwise; and
[(3) the board of trustees of the independent school
district is also the governing board of the junior college.]
SECTION 4. Section 130.069, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 130.069. TRANSFER [DISANNEXATION] OF [OVERLAPPED]
TERRITORY. On receipt of a petition signed by a number of
registered voters of the territory equal to at least five percent of
the total number of votes cast for all candidates for governor in
the most recent gubernatorial general election, the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board by order may disannex territory of a
[(a) All] junior college district that borders [districts whose
boundaries have or may hereafter become established so that they
include territory which prior to such establishment lay, and shall
continue to lie, within the boundaries of] another junior college
district and transfer that [shall have the power to disannex such
overlapped] territory to the bordering district if the
disannexation:
(1) will not cause any territory of a district to
become noncontiguous to the rest of the district;
(2) will not reduce the scholastic population and
taxable property valuation of a district below those required for
original establishment of a junior college district; and
(3) will make junior college educational
opportunities more accessible to the residents of the territory, as
determined by the coordinating board.
[(b) Upon certification by the governing board of such a
junior college district to the county board of school trustees of
the county in which its college is located that such an overlapping
condition exists, the county board may by resolution disannex the
overlapped territory from the district, describing such territory
by metes and bounds.]
SECTION 5. Section 130.122, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (a-1) and amending Subsection (b) to read as
follows:
(a-1) If the boundaries of a junior college district are
adjusted under Sec. 130.061, the district shall adjust the tax rate
to ensure the projected tax revenue is lower than the sum of the
prior fiscal year's tax revenue, revenue from supplemental tuition
charged to students from locations annexed under Sec. 130.061, and
adjustments in state assistance to the district since the previous
fiscal year. The adjusted tax rate shall be adopted no later than
180 days after appraisal districts certify the assessed value of
property within the junior college district.
(b) No [such] bonds shall be issued [and none of the
aforesaid taxes shall be levied] unless authorized by a majority of
the electors voting at an election held for that [such] purpose in
accordance with law, at the expense of the district. Each [such]
election shall be called by resolution or order of the board, which
shall set forth the date of the election, the proposition or
propositions to be submitted and voted on, the polling place or
places, and any other matters deemed necessary or advisable by the
board. Notice of the [said] election shall be given by publishing a
substantial copy of the election resolution or order one time, at
least 10 days prior to the date set for the election, in a newspaper
of general circulation in the district. The board shall canvass the
returns and declare the results of the [such] election.
SECTION 6. Effective January 2, 2013, the following
provisions of the Education Code are repealed:
(1) Sections 130.00311, 130.062, 130.063, 130.064,
130.065, 130.066, 130.067, 130.068, and 130.122(f);
(2) Subchapter H, Chapter 130; and
(3) Subchapter J, Chapter 130.
SECTION 7. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
shall adopt rules for the administration of Sections 130.061 and
130.069, Education Code, as amended by this Act, as soon as
practicable after this Act takes effect. For that purpose, the
coordinating board may adopt the initial rules in the manner
provided by law for emergency rules.
SECTION 8. (a) Except as otherwise provided by this Act,
and subject to Subsection (b) of this section, this Act takes effect
January 1, 2012.
(b) This Act takes effect only if the constitutional
amendment proposed by the 82nd Legislature, Regular Session, 2011,
providing for the legislature to pass laws relating to junior
college districts, including laws for the assessment and collection
of taxes by a junior college district without the necessity of an
election, is approved by the voters. If that amendment is not
approved by the voters, this Act has no effect.