Texas 2011 - 82nd Regular

Texas Senate Bill SJR5 Compare Versions

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Old	New	Differences
1	1	By: Ogden S.J.R. No. 5
2	2	(Pitts)
3	3	Substitute the following for S.J.R. No. 5: No.
4	4
5	5
6	6	A JOINT RESOLUTION
7	7	proposing a constitutional amendment to clarify references to the
8	8	permanent school fund, to allow the General Land Office to
9	9	distribute revenue derived from permanent school fund land or other
10	10	properties to the available school fund, and to provide for an
11	11	increase in the market value of the permanent school fund for the
12	12	purpose of allowing increased distributions from the available
13	13	school fund.
14	14	BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
15	15	SECTION 1. Section 49-b(h), Article III, Texas
16	16	Constitution, is amended to read as follows:
17	17	(h) Lands purchased and comprising a part of the Veterans'
18	18	Land Fund are declared to be held for a governmental purpose, but
19	19	the individual purchasers of those lands shall be subject to
20	20	taxation to the same extent and in the same manner as are purchasers
21	21	of lands dedicated to the Permanent [Free Public] School Fund. The
22	22	lands shall be sold to veterans in quantities, on terms, at prices,
23	23	and at fixed, variable, floating, or other rates of interest,
24	24	determined by the Board and in accordance with rules of the Board.
25	25	Notwithstanding any provisions of this section to the contrary,
26	26	lands in the Veterans' Land Fund that are offered for sale to
27	27	veterans and that are not sold may be sold or resold to the
28	28	purchasers in quantities, on terms, at prices, and at rates of
29	29	interest determined by the Board and in accordance with rules of the
30	30	Board.
31	31	SECTION 2. Sections 2 and 4, Article VII, Texas
32	32	Constitution, are amended to read as follows:
33	33	Sec. 2. All funds, lands and other property heretofore set
34	34	apart and appropriated for the support of public schools; all the
35	35	alternate sections of land reserved by the State out of grants
36	36	heretofore made or that may hereafter be made to railroads or other
37	37	corporations of any nature whatsoever; one half of the public
38	38	domain of the State; and all sums of money that may come to the State
39	39	from the sale of any portion of the same, shall constitute a
40	40	permanent [perpetual public] school fund.
41	41	Sec. 4. The lands herein set apart to the Permanent [Public
42	42	Free] School fund, shall be sold under such regulations, at such
43	43	times, and on such terms as may be prescribed by law; and the
44	44	Legislature shall not have power to grant any relief to purchasers
45	45	thereof. The proceeds of such sales must be used to acquire other
46	46	land for the Permanent [Public Free] School fund as provided by law
47	47	or the proceeds shall be invested by the comptroller of public
48	48	accounts, as may be directed by the Board of Education herein
49	49	provided for, in the bonds of the United States, the State of Texas,
50	50	or counties in said State, or in such other securities, and under
51	51	such restrictions as may be prescribed by law; and the State shall
52	52	be responsible for all investments.
53	53	SECTION 3. Section 5, Article VII, Texas Constitution, is
54	54	amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (g) to
55	55	read as follows:
56	56	(a) The permanent school fund consists of all land
57	57	appropriated for public schools by this constitution or the other
58	58	laws of this state, other properties belonging to the permanent
59	59	school fund, and all revenue derived from the land or other
60	60	properties. The available school fund consists of the distributions
61	61	made to it from the total return on all investment assets of the
62	62	permanent school fund, the taxes authorized by this constitution or
63	63	general law to be part of the available school fund, and
64	64	appropriations made to the available school fund by the
65	65	legislature. The total amount distributed from the permanent school
66	66	fund to the available school fund:
67	67	(1) in each year of a state fiscal biennium must be an amount
68	68	that is not more than six percent of the average of the market value
69	69	of the permanent school fund, excluding real property belonging to
70	70	the fund that is managed, sold, or acquired under Section 4 of this
71	71	article, but including discretionary real assets investments and
72	72	cash in the state treasury derived from property belonging to the
73	73	fund, on the last day of each of the 16 state fiscal quarters
74	74	preceding the regular session of the legislature that begins before
75	75	that state fiscal biennium, in accordance with the rate adopted by:
76	76	(A) a vote of two-thirds of the total membership of the
77	77	State Board of Education, taken before the regular session of the
78	78	legislature convenes; or
79	79	(B) the legislature by general law or appropriation, if the
80	80	State Board of Education does not adopt a rate as provided by
81	81	Paragraph (A) of this subdivision; and
82	82	(2) over the 10-year period consisting of the current state
83	83	fiscal year and the nine preceding state fiscal years may not exceed
84	84	the total return on all investment assets of the permanent school
85	85	fund over the same 10-year period.
86	86	(g) Notwithstanding any other provision of this
87	87	constitution or of a statute, the General Land Office or an entity
88	88	other than the State Board of Education that has responsibility for
89	89	the management of permanent school fund land or other properties
90	90	may in its sole discretion distribute to the available school fund
91	91	each year revenue derived during that year from the land or
92	92	properties, not to exceed $300 million each year.
93	93	SECTION 4. The following temporary provision is added to
94	94	the Texas Constitution:
95	95	TEMPORARY PROVISION. (a) This temporary provision applies
96	96	to the constitutional amendment proposed by S.J.R. No. 5, 82nd
97	97	Legislature, Regular Session, 2011, providing for an increase in
98	98	the market value of the permanent school fund for the purpose of
99	99	allowing increased distributions from the available school fund.
100	100	(b) The change to Section 5(a), Article VII, of this
101	101	constitution made by the amendment applies to a distribution from
102	102	the permanent school fund to the available school fund made on or
103	103	after September 1, 2011.
104	104	(c) This temporary provision expires December 1, 2015.
105	105	SECTION 5. This proposed constitutional amendment shall be
106	106	submitted to the voters at an election to be held November 8, 2011.
107	107	The ballot shall be printed to provide for voting for or against the
108	108	proposition: "The constitutional amendment clarifying references
109	109	to the permanent school fund, allowing the General Land Office to
110	110	distribute revenue from permanent school fund land or other
111	111	properties to the available school fund to provide additional
112	112	funding for public education, and providing for an increase in the
113	113	market value of the permanent school fund for the purpose of
114	114	allowing increased distributions from the available school fund."