84R9860 KKA-D
By: Goldman H.B. No. 1752
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the issuance of certain bonds by school districts and
the permissible use of interest derived from the proceeds of those
bonds.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 45.001, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsections (a-1),
(b-1), and (d) to read as follows:
(a) Subject to Subsection (a-1), the [The] governing board
of an independent school district, including the city council or
commission that has jurisdiction over a municipally controlled
independent school district, the governing board of a rural high
school district, and the commissioners court of a county, on behalf
of each common school district under its jurisdiction, may:
(1) issue bonds for:
(A) the construction, acquisition, and equipment
of school buildings in the district;
(B) the acquisition of property or the
refinancing of property financed under a contract entered under
Subchapter A, Chapter 271, Local Government Code, regardless of
whether payment obligations under the contract are due in the
current year or a future year;
(C) the purchase of the necessary sites for
school buildings; and
(D) the purchase of new school buses; and
(2) [may] levy, pledge, assess, and collect annual ad
valorem taxes sufficient to pay the principal of and interest on the
bonds as or before the principal and interest become due, subject to
Section 45.003.
(a-1) This section does not authorize bonds to be issued to
pay costs associated with the initial purchase, subsequent
replacement, or lease of technological equipment that is not a
permanently attached fixture necessary in the initial construction
of a public education facility.
(b) The bonds must mature serially or otherwise not more
than 40 years from their date, except that if the expected useful
life of the asset acquired with bond proceeds is less than 40 years
the bonds must mature serially or otherwise not later than the last
year of the expected useful life of the acquired asset. The bonds
may be made redeemable before maturity.
(b-1) For purposes of Subsection (b), the expected useful
life of an asset is determined based on the depreciable life of the
asset under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
(d) Interest earned on bond proceeds may be used only to pay
the principal of and interest on the bonds.
SECTION 2. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this
section, this Act applies only to bonds authorized by voters on or
after the effective date of this Act.
(b) Section 45.001(d), Education Code, as added by this Act,
applies to interest that accrues on bond proceeds on or after the
effective date of this Act, regardless of the date on which the
bonds were authorized or issued.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.