Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SJR78 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	By: Taylor S.J.R. No. 78
2	2
3	3
4	4	A JOINT RESOLUTION
5	5	proposing a constitutional amendment relating to the permanent
6	6	school fund.
7	7	BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
8	8	SECTION 1. Section 2, Article VII, Texas Constitution, is
9	9	amended to read as follows:
10	10	Sec. 2. PERMANENT SCHOOL FUND. (a) All funds, lands and
11	11	other property heretofore set apart and appropriated for the
12	12	support of public schools; all the alternate sections of land
13	13	reserved by the State out of grants heretofore made or that may
14	14	hereafter be made to railroads or other corporations of any nature
15	15	whatsoever; one half of the public domain of the State; and all sums
16	16	of money that may come to the State from the sale of any portion of
17	17	the same, shall constitute a permanent school fund.
18	18	(b) The purpose of the permanent school fund is to maximize
19	19	available revenue distributions for the education of students
20	20	enrolled in the state's public education system.
21	21	SECTION 2. Section 4, Article VII, Texas Constitution, is
22	22	amended to read as follows:
23	23	Sec. 4. SALE OF PERMANENT SCHOOL FUND LANDS; INVESTMENT OF
24	24	PROCEEDS. The lands herein set apart to the Permanent School fund,
25	25	shall be sold under such regulations, at such times, and on such
26	26	terms as may be prescribed by law; and the Legislature shall not
27	27	have power to grant any relief to purchasers thereof. The proceeds
28	28	of such sales must be used to acquire other land for the Permanent
29	29	School fund as provided by law or the proceeds shall be invested by
30	30	the comptroller of public accounts, as [may be] directed by the
31	31	entity designated by the Legislature to manage the assets of the
32	32	Permanent School fund [Board of Education herein provided for], in
33	33	the bonds of the United States, the State of Texas, or counties in
34	34	said State, or in such other securities, and under such
35	35	restrictions as may be prescribed by law; and the State shall be
36	36	responsible for all investments.
37	37	SECTION 3. Section 5, Article VII, Texas Constitution, is
38	38	amended to read as follows:
39	39	Sec. 5. PERMANENT SCHOOL FUND, [AND] AVAILABLE SCHOOL FUND,
40	40	AND BICENTENNIAL EDUCATION FUND: COMPOSITION, MANAGEMENT, USE, AND
41	41	DISTRIBUTION. (a) The permanent school fund consists of all land
42	42	appropriated for public schools by this constitution or the other
43	43	laws of this state, other properties belonging to the permanent
44	44	school fund, [and] all revenue derived from the land or other
45	45	properties, and all revenue otherwise deposited into the fund.
46	46	(a-1) The available school fund consists of the
47	47	distributions made to it from the total return on select [all]
48	48	investment assets of and net revenue deposits into the permanent
49	49	school fund as directed by the entity designated by the legislature
50	50	to manage the assets of the permanent school fund, the taxes
51	51	authorized by this constitution or general law to be part of the
52	52	available school fund, and appropriations made to the available
53	53	school fund by the legislature. The total amount distributed from
54	54	the permanent school fund to the available school fund:
55	55	(1) in each year of a state fiscal biennium must be an
56	56	amount that is not more than six percent of the average of the
57	57	market value of the permanent school fund, excluding real property
58	58	belonging to the fund that is managed, sold, or acquired under
59	59	Section 4 of this article, but including discretionary real assets
60	60	investments and cash in the state treasury derived from property
61	61	belonging to the fund, on the last day of each of the 16 state fiscal
62	62	quarters preceding the regular session of the legislature that
63	63	begins before that state fiscal biennium, in accordance with the
64	64	rate adopted by:
65	65	(A) a vote of two-thirds of the total membership
66	66	of the entity designated by the legislature to manage the assets of
67	67	the permanent school fund [State Board of Education], taken before
68	68	the regular session of the legislature convenes; or
69	69	(B) the legislature by general law or
70	70	appropriation, if the entity designated by the legislature to
71	71	manage the assets of the permanent school fund [State Board of
72	72	Education] does not adopt a rate as provided by Paragraph (A) of
73	73	this subdivision; and
74	74	(2) over the 10-year period consisting of the current
75	75	state fiscal year and the nine preceding state fiscal years may not
76	76	exceed the total return on all investment assets of the permanent
77	77	school fund over the same 10-year period.
78	78	(a-2) The bicentennial education fund consists of the
79	79	distributions made to it from the total return on select investment
80	80	assets of and net revenue deposits into the permanent school fund as
81	81	directed by the entity designated by the legislature to manage the
82	82	assets of the permanent school fund, the taxes authorized by this
83	83	constitution or general law to be part of the bicentennial
84	84	education fund, and appropriations made to the bicentennial
85	85	education fund by the legislature.
86	86	(a-3) The entity designated by the legislature to manage the
87	87	assets of the permanent school fund shall coordinate distributions
88	88	under subsections (a-1) and (a-2) as necessary to ensure
89	89	sufficient funding is available to guarantee bonds issued under
90	90	subsection (d).
91	91	(b) The expenses of managing permanent school fund land and
92	92	investments shall be paid by appropriation from the permanent
93	93	school fund.
94	94	(c) The available school fund and bicentennial education
95	95	fund shall be applied annually to the support of the public free
96	96	schools. Except as provided by this section, the legislature may
97	97	not enact a law appropriating any part of the permanent school fund,
98	98	[or] available school fund, or bicentennial education fund to any
99	99	other purpose. The permanent school fund, [and] the available
100	100	school fund, and the bicentennial education fund may not be
101	101	appropriated to or used for the support of any sectarian school. The
102	102	available school fund shall be distributed to the several counties
103	103	according to their scholastic population and applied in the manner
104	104	provided by law. The bicentennial education fund shall be
105	105	distributed to school districts for the purposes of providing
106	106	funding for merit-based teacher pay and for incentivizing
107	107	scholastic achievement among historically underperforming student
108	108	groups in the manner provided by law.
109	109	(d) The legislature by law may provide for using the
110	110	permanent school fund to guarantee bonds issued by school districts
111	111	or by the state for the purpose of making loans to or purchasing the
112	112	bonds of school districts for the purpose of acquisition,
113	113	construction, or improvement of instructional facilities including
114	114	all furnishings thereto. If any payment is required to be made by
115	115	the permanent school fund as a result of its guarantee of bonds
116	116	issued by the state, an amount equal to this payment shall be
117	117	immediately paid by the state from the treasury to the permanent
118	118	school fund. An amount owed by the state to the permanent school
119	119	fund under this section shall be a general obligation of the state
120	120	until paid. The amount of bonds authorized hereunder shall not
121	121	exceed $750 million or a higher amount authorized by a two-thirds
122	122	record vote of both houses of the legislature. If the proceeds of
123	123	bonds issued by the state are used to provide a loan to a school
124	124	district and the district becomes delinquent on the loan payments,
125	125	the amount of the delinquent payments shall be offset against state
126	126	aid to which the district is otherwise entitled.
127	127	(e) The legislature may appropriate part of the available
128	128	school fund for administration of a bond guarantee program
129	129	established under this section.
130	130	(f) Notwithstanding any other provision of this
131	131	constitution, in managing the assets of the permanent school fund,
132	132	the entity designated by the legislature to manage the assets of the
133	133	permanent school fund [State Board of Education] may acquire,
134	134	exchange, sell, supervise, manage, or retain, through procedures
135	135	and subject to restrictions it establishes and in amounts it
136	136	considers appropriate, any kind of investment [, including
137	137	investments in the Texas growth fund created by Article XVI,
138	138	Section 70, of this constitution,] that persons of ordinary
139	139	prudence, discretion, and intelligence, exercising the judgment
140	140	and care under the circumstances then prevailing, acquire or retain
141	141	for their own account in the management of their affairs, not in
142	142	regard to speculation but in regard to the permanent disposition of
143	143	their funds, considering the probable income as well as the
144	144	probable safety of their capital.
145	145	[(g) Notwithstanding any other provision of this
146	146	constitution or of a statute, the General Land Office or an entity
147	147	other than the State Board of Education that has responsibility for
148	148	the management of permanent school fund land or other properties
149	149	may in its sole discretion distribute to the available school fund
150	150	each year revenue derived during that year from the land or
151	151	properties, not to exceed $300 million each year.]
152	152	SECTION 4. This proposed constitutional amendment shall be
153	153	submitted to the voters at an election to be held November 5, 2019.
154	154	The ballot shall be printed to permit voting for or against the
155	155	proposition: "The constitutional amendment relating to the
156	156	creation of the Bicentennial Education Fund, the dedication of
157	157	funds for teacher pay and historically underperforming student
158	158	groups, and the transfer of the management and investment of the
159	159	permanent school fund to an entity designated by the legislature."