Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas House Bill HB3531 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Ashby H.B. No. 3531
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to state fiscal matters related to public education;
7	7	authorizing a fee.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	ARTICLE 1. REDUCTION OF EXPENDITURES AND IMPOSITION OF FEES OR
10	10	CHARGES GENERALLY
11	11	SECTION 1.01. This article applies to the Texas Education
12	12	Agency, the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, the
13	13	Texas School for the Deaf, and the Teacher Retirement System of
14	14	Texas.
15	15	SECTION 1.02. Notwithstanding any other statute of this
16	16	state, each entity to which this article applies is authorized to
17	17	reduce or recover expenditures by:
18	18	(1) consolidating any reports or publications the
19	19	entity is required to make and filing or delivering any of those
20	20	reports or publications exclusively by electronic means;
21	21	(2) extending the effective period of any license,
22	22	permit, or registration the entity grants or administers;
23	23	(3) entering into a contract with another governmental
24	24	entity or with a private vendor to carry out any of the entity's
25	25	duties;
26	26	(4) modifying the services provided to and the
27	27	eligibility requirements, including the procedures to determine
28	28	eligibility, for persons who receive benefits under any federal or
29	29	state law the entity administers to ensure that those benefits are
30	30	received by the most deserving persons consistent with the purposes
31	31	for which the benefits are provided;
32	32	(5) providing that any communication between the
33	33	entity and another person and any document required to be delivered
34	34	to or by the entity, including any application, notice, billing
35	35	statement, receipt, or certificate, may be made or delivered by
36	36	e-mail or through the Internet; and
37	37	(6) adopting and collecting fees or charges to cover
38	38	any costs the entity incurs in performing its lawful functions.
39	39	ARTICLE 2. REDUCTION IN GENERAL APPROPRIATIONS ACT
40	40	SECTION 2.01. An employee of an entity described by Section
41	41	1.01 of this Act is not entitled to an amount from the state for
42	42	expenses, including office expenses or reimbursement of office
43	43	expenses, per diem, travel, or a salary or salary supplement that
44	44	exceeds the amount authorized for those purposes by the General
45	45	Appropriations Act.
46	46	ARTICLE 3. FISCAL MATTERS RELATED TO PUBLIC EDUCATION
47	47	SECTION 3.01. Section 21.4021(a), Education Code, is
48	48	amended to read as follows:
49	49	(a) Notwithstanding Section 21.401 and subject to Section
50	50	21.4022, the board of trustees of a school district may, in
51	51	accordance with district policy, implement a furlough program and
52	52	reduce the number of days of service otherwise required under
53	53	Section 21.401 by not more than seven [six] days of service during a
54	54	school year if the commissioner certifies in accordance with
55	55	Section 42.009 that the district will be provided with less state
56	56	and local funding for that year than was provided to the district
57	57	for the 2016-2017 [2010-2011] school year.
58	58	SECTION 3.02. Section 25.112(a), Education Code, is amended
59	59	to read as follows:
60	60	(a) Except as otherwise authorized by this section, a school
61	61	district may not enroll more than 22 students in [a] kindergarten,
62	62	first, second, third, and [or] fourth grade classes [class]. That
63	63	limitation does not apply during:
64	64	(1) any 12-week period of the school year selected by
65	65	the district, in the case of a district whose average daily
66	66	attendance is adjusted under Section 42.005(c); or
67	67	(2) the last 12 weeks of any school year in the case of
68	68	any other district.
69	69	SECTION 3.03. Section 42.009, Education Code, is amended to
70	70	read as follows:
71	71	Sec. 42.009. DETERMINATION OF FUNDING LEVELS. (a) Not
72	72	later than July 1 of each year, the commissioner shall determine for
73	73	each school district whether the estimated amount of state and
74	74	local funding per student in weighted average daily attendance to
75	75	be provided to the district under the Foundation School Program for
76	76	maintenance and operations for the following school year is less
77	77	than the amount provided to the district for the 2016-2017
78	78	[2010-2011] school year. If the amount estimated to be provided is
79	79	less, the commissioner shall certify the percentage decrease in
80	80	funding to be provided to the district.
81	81	(b) In making the determinations regarding funding levels
82	82	required by Subsection (a), the commissioner shall:
83	83	(1) make adjustments as necessary to reflect changes
84	84	in a school district's maintenance and operations tax rate;
85	85	(2) for a district required to take action under
86	86	Chapter 41 to reduce its wealth per student to the equalized wealth
87	87	level, base the determinations on the district's net funding levels
88	88	after deducting any amounts required to be expended by the district
89	89	to comply with Chapter 41; and
90	90	(3) determine a district's weighted average daily
91	91	attendance in accordance with this chapter as it existed on January
92	92	1, 2017 [2011].
93	93	SECTION 3.04. Section 21.402(c-1), Education Code, is
94	94	repealed.
95	95	SECTION 3.05. This article applies beginning with the
96	96	2017-2018 school year.
97	97	ARTICLE 4. FISCAL MATTERS CONCERNING RETIRED TEACHERS
98	98	SECTION 4.01. Section 825.404(b), Government Code, is
99	99	amended to read as follows:
100	100	(b) Before November 15 [2] of each even-numbered year, the
101	101	board of trustees, in coordination with the Legislative Budget
102	102	Board, shall certify to the comptroller of public accounts for
103	103	review and adoption an estimate of the amount necessary to pay the
104	104	state's contributions to the retirement system for the following
105	105	biennium. For qualifying employees under Subsection (a-1)(1), the
106	106	board of trustees shall include only the amount payable by the state
107	107	under Subsection (a-1)(1) in determining the amount to be
108	108	certified.
109	109	SECTION 4.02. Section 1575.202(a), Insurance Code, is
110	110	amended to read as follows:
111	111	(a) Each state fiscal year, the state shall contribute to
112	112	the fund an amount equal to 0.98 [one] percent of the salary of each
113	113	active employee.
114	114	SECTION 4.03. The changes in law made by this article apply
115	115	beginning with the state fiscal year that begins September 1, 2017.
116	116	ARTICLE 5. FISCAL MATTERS CONCERNING ADVANCED PLACEMENT
117	117	SECTION 5.01. (a) Section 28.053(i), Education Code, is
118	118	amended to read as follows:
119	119	(i) The commissioner shall analyze and adjust, as needed,
120	120	the sum of and number of awards to ensure that the purpose of the
121	121	program is realized and to account for any budgetary constraints.
122	122	(b) This section applies beginning with the 2017-2018
123	123	school year.
124	124	ARTICLE 6. EFFECTIVE DATE
125	125	SECTION 6.01. This Act takes effect immediately if it
126	126	receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
127	127	house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
128	128	If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate
129	129	effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2017.