By: Paxton S.B. No. 657
(In the Senate - Filed February 19, 2013; February 25, 2013,
read first time and referred to Committee on Finance;
April 8, 2013, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 14, Nays 0; April 8, 2013,
sent to printer.)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 657 By: Lucio
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to procedural requirements for adopting and filing a
school district budget.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subsection (f), Section 44.004, 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) one of the following statements in 18-point or
larger type that accurately describes the adopted budget:
(A) "This budget will raise more revenue from
property taxes than last year's budget by an amount of (insert total
dollar amount of increase), which is a (insert percentage increase)
percent increase from last year's budget. The property tax revenue
to be raised from new property added to the tax roll this year is
(insert amount computed by multiplying the proposed tax rate by the
value of new property added to the roll).";
(B) "This budget will raise less revenue from
property taxes than last year's budget by an amount of (insert total
dollar amount of decrease), which is a (insert percentage decrease)
percent decrease from last year's budget. The property tax revenue
to be raised from new property added to the tax roll this year is
(insert amount computed by multiplying the proposed tax rate by the
value of new property added to the roll)."; or
(C) "This budget will raise the same amount of
revenue from property taxes as last year's budget. The property tax
revenue to be raised from new property added to the tax roll this
year is (insert amount computed by multiplying the proposed tax
rate by the value of new property added to the roll).";
(2) the school district property tax rates for the
preceding fiscal year and each district property tax rate that has
been adopted or calculated for the current fiscal year, including:
(A) the 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) the computation of the instructional expenditures
ratio and instructional employees ratio required to be reported to
the commissioner under Section 44.0071; 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 property tax rates
required by Subsection (b)(2) and the record vote of each member of
the board of trustees by name as required by Subsection (b)(5)(B),
if that information is not included on the cover page when the
budget is filed with the agency. The district shall file an amended
cover page with the agency and take action to ensure that a copy of
the amended cover page is posted on the district's Internet
website.
SECTION 3. Section 39.084, Education Code, is transferred
to Subchapter A, Chapter 44, Education Code, redesignated as
Section 44.0051, Education Code, and amended to read as follows:
Sec. 44.0051 [39.084]. POSTING OF ADOPTED BUDGET. (a) On
or before the date described by Section 44.005(a) [final approval
of the budget by the board of trustees], the school district shall
post on the district's Internet website a copy of the district's
adopted budget, including the cover page required by Section
44.005(b) [adopted by the board of trustees]. The district's
Internet website must prominently display the electronic link to
the adopted budget.
(b) The district shall maintain the adopted budget,
including the required cover page, on the district's Internet
website for at least three consecutive fiscal years [until the
third anniversary of the date the budget was adopted].
SECTION 4. This Act applies only to a budget adopted for a
fiscal year beginning on or after the effective date of this Act. A
budget adopted for a fiscal year beginning before the effective
date of this Act is governed by the law in effect when the budget was
adopted, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.
* * * * *