By: Guillen H.J.R. No. 205
A JOINT RESOLUTION
proposing a constitutional amendment to prohibit the imposition of
school district maintenance and operations ad valorem taxes on
residence homesteads, to increase the rates of state sales and use
taxes and dedicate the revenue attributable to that increase for
public education, and to establish and prescribe the permissible
uses of the homeowner protection fund.
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 3, Article VII, Texas Constitution, is
amended by adding Subsection (f) to read as follows:
(f) Notwithstanding any other provision of this
constitution or general law, a school district, other than a junior
college district, may not impose an ad valorem tax for maintenance
and operations purposes on a person's residence homestead.
SECTION 2. Article VIII, Texas Constitution, is amended by
adding Sections 1-c, 27, and 28 to read as follows:
Sec. 1-c. (a) The homeowner protection fund is established
as a fund in the state treasury.
(b) The homeowner protection fund may consist of:
(1) money transferred or appropriated to the fund at
the direction of the legislature;
(2) money that the legislature by statute dedicates
for deposit to the credit of the fund; and
(3) investment earnings and interest earned on amounts
in the fund.
(c) The legislature may appropriate money from the
homeowner protection fund only in the event that sufficient revenue
is not available to provide for the support and maintenance of an
efficient system of public free schools.
(d) Notwithstanding Subsection (c) of this section, the
legislature by general law may provide for a procedure by which
money in the homeowner protection fund is transferred to the
general revenue fund if the balance of the homeowner protection
fund exceeds an amount determined by the legislature. The amount
determined by the legislature may not be less than $20 billion. The
comptroller of public accounts shall comply with a general law
enacted by the legislature under this subsection.
(e) An appropriation or transfer of money from the homeowner
protection fund for a purpose described by Subsection (c) or (d) of
this section is not an appropriation of state tax revenues for
purposes of Section 22 of this article.
(f) On January 1, 2024, $20 billion of the unobligated and
otherwise unappropriated balance of the general revenue fund is
appropriated to the homeowner protection fund established under
this section. The appropriation required by this subsection is not
an appropriation of state tax revenues for purposes of Section 22
of this article. This subsection expires December 31, 2024.
SECTION 4. The following temporary provision is added to
the Texas Constitution:
TEMPORARY PROVISION. (a) This temporary provision applies
to the constitutional amendment proposed by the 88th Legislature,
Regular Session, 2023, to prohibit the imposition of school
district maintenance and operations ad valorem taxes on residence
homesteads, to increase the rates of state sales and use taxes and
dedicate the revenue attributable to that increase for public
education, to impose a tax on the transfer of residential real
estate, and to establish and prescribe the permissible uses of the
homeowner protection fund.
(b) The amendment takes effect January 1, 2024.
(c) This temporary provision expires January 1, 2025.
SECTION 5. This proposed constitutional amendment shall be
submitted to the voters at an election to be held November 7, 2023.
The ballot shall be printed to permit voting for or against the
proposition: "The constitutional amendment to prohibit the
imposition of school district maintenance and operations ad valorem
taxes on residence homesteads, to increase the rates of state sales
and use taxes and dedicate the revenue attributable to that
increase for public education, to impose a tax on the transfer of
residential real estate, and to establish and prescribe the
permissible uses of the homeowner protection fund."