83R329 PAM-F
By: Paxton S.B. No. 657
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to procedural requirements for adopting and filing a
school district budget and voting requirements for setting a
property tax rate by the governing body of a taxing unit, including
a school district.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 44.004(f), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(f) The board of trustees, at the meeting called for that
purpose, shall adopt a budget to cover all expenditures for the
school district for the next succeeding fiscal year. A vote to
adopt the budget must be a record vote. Any taxpayer of the
district may be present and participate in the meeting.
SECTION 2. Section 44.005, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 44.005. [FILING OF] ADOPTED BUDGET. (a) On or before
a date set by the State Board of Education, the budget must be filed
with the agency according to the rules established by the State
Board of Education.
(b) The filed budget must contain a cover page that
includes:
(1) if the budget requires raising more revenue from
property taxes than in the previous year, the following statement
in 18-point or larger type: "This budget will raise more total
property taxes than last year's budget by (insert total dollar
amount of increase and percentage increase), and of that amount
(insert amount computed by multiplying the proposed tax rate by the
value of new property added to the roll) is tax revenue to be raised
from new property added to the tax roll this year.";
(2) the school district property tax rates for the
preceding and current fiscal years, including:
(A) the adopted property tax rate;
(B) the effective tax rate;
(C) the effective maintenance and operations tax
rate;
(D) the rollback tax rate; and
(E) the debt rate;
(3) the total amount of bonds and other debt
obligations owed by the district as of the date of the adoption of
the budget;
(4) a list of district expenditures comparing the
preceding and current fiscal year expenditures for the following
categories:
(A) total per student expenditures;
(B) per student expenditures for classroom
instruction activities;
(C) per student expenditures for administrative
and instructional support activities;
(D) per student expenditures for district
operations; and
(E) per student expenditures for debt service
requirements; and
(5) the record vote of each member of the board of
trustees by name voting on:
(A) the adoption of the budget; and
(B) the setting of the property tax rate for the
current fiscal year, if the vote has been taken.
(c) The district shall take action to ensure that the cover
page of the budget is amended to include the record vote of each
member of the board of trustees by name following the vote on the
setting of the property tax rate for the current fiscal year, if the
information is not included on the cover page.
(d) On or before the date described by Subsection (a), the
school district shall post a copy of the adopted budget, including
the required cover page, on the district's Internet website, if the
district operates an Internet website, and maintain the information
for at least three consecutive fiscal years.
SECTION 3. Section 26.05(b), Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
(b) A taxing unit may not impose property taxes in any year
until the governing body has adopted a tax rate for that year, and
the annual tax rate must be set by ordinance, resolution, or order,
depending on the method prescribed by law for adoption of a law by
the governing body. The vote on the ordinance, resolution, or order
setting the tax rate must be separate from the vote adopting the
budget. The vote on the ordinance, resolution, or order setting a
tax rate [that exceeds the effective tax rate] must be a record
vote. A motion to adopt an ordinance, resolution, or order setting
a tax rate that exceeds the effective tax rate must be made in the
following form: "I move that the property tax rate be increased by
the adoption of a tax rate of (specify tax rate), which is
effectively a (insert percentage by which the proposed tax rate
exceeds the effective tax rate) percent increase in the tax rate."
If the ordinance, resolution, or order sets a tax rate that, if
applied to the total taxable value, will impose an amount of taxes
to fund maintenance and operation expenditures of the taxing unit
that exceeds the amount of taxes imposed for that purpose in the
preceding year, the taxing unit must:
(1) include in the ordinance, resolution, or order in
type larger than the type used in any other portion of the document:
(A) the following statement: "THIS TAX RATE WILL
RAISE MORE TAXES FOR MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS THAN LAST YEAR'S
TAX RATE."; and
(B) if the tax rate exceeds the effective
maintenance and operations rate, the following statement: "THE TAX
RATE WILL EFFECTIVELY BE RAISED BY (INSERT PERCENTAGE BY WHICH THE
TAX RATE EXCEEDS THE EFFECTIVE MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS RATE)
PERCENT AND WILL RAISE TAXES FOR MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS ON A
$100,000 HOME BY APPROXIMATELY $(Insert amount)."; and
(2) include on the home page of any Internet website
operated by the unit:
(A) the following statement: "(Insert name of
unit) ADOPTED A TAX RATE THAT WILL RAISE MORE TAXES FOR MAINTENANCE
AND OPERATIONS THAN LAST YEAR'S TAX RATE"; and
(B) if the tax rate exceeds the effective
maintenance and operations rate, the following statement: "THE TAX
RATE WILL EFFECTIVELY BE RAISED BY (INSERT PERCENTAGE BY WHICH THE
TAX RATE EXCEEDS THE EFFECTIVE MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS RATE)
PERCENT AND WILL RAISE TAXES FOR MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS ON A
$100,000 HOME BY APPROXIMATELY $(Insert amount)."
SECTION 4. This Act applies only to a budget adopted, or a
vote taken on a fiscal matter, for a fiscal year beginning on or
after the effective date of this Act. A budget adopted, or a vote
taken on a fiscal matter, for a fiscal year beginning before the
effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect when the
budget was adopted or the vote was taken, and that law is continued
in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.