| 1 | 1 | | 89R13093 PRL-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Lowe H.B. No. 4156 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | |
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| 6 | 6 | | |
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| 7 | 7 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 8 | 8 | | AN ACT |
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| 9 | 9 | | relating to creation of a school district by detachment of |
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| 10 | 10 | | territory from an existing school district. |
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| 11 | 11 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 12 | 12 | | SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 13, Education Code, is |
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| 13 | 13 | | amended by adding Section 13.100 to read as follows: |
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| 14 | 14 | | Sec. 13.100. DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "board" means |
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| 15 | 15 | | the State Board of Education. |
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| 16 | 16 | | SECTION 2. Section 13.103, Education Code, is amended to |
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| 17 | 17 | | read as follows: |
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| 18 | 18 | | Sec. 13.103. INITIATION OF DETACHMENT. Creation of a new |
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| 19 | 19 | | district by detachment is initiated by [resolution of the board of |
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| 20 | 20 | | trustees of each district from which territory is to be detached or |
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| 21 | 21 | | by] a petition presented to the board [commissioners court]. A |
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| 22 | 22 | | petition under this subchapter must: |
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| 23 | 23 | | (1) give the metes and bounds of the proposed new |
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| 24 | 24 | | district; |
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| 25 | 25 | | (2) be signed by at least 20 [10] percent of the |
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| 26 | 26 | | registered voters residing in each [the proposed area to be |
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| 27 | 27 | | detached from an] existing district from which territory is to be |
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| 28 | 28 | | detached; and |
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| 29 | 29 | | (3) be addressed to the board [commissioners court of |
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| 30 | 30 | | the county in which the territory of the proposed district is |
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| 31 | 31 | | located or, if the territory is in more than one county, to the |
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| 32 | 32 | | commissioners court of each county in which the territory is |
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| 33 | 33 | | located]. |
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| 34 | 34 | | SECTION 3. Sections 13.104(a) and (d), Education Code, are |
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| 35 | 35 | | amended to read as follows: |
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| 36 | 36 | | (a) Not later than the 30th day after the date the board |
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| 37 | 37 | | [commissioners court] receives a petition under this subchapter, |
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| 38 | 38 | | the board [commissioners court] shall hold a hearing on the |
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| 39 | 39 | | validity of the petition. If the board [commissioners court] |
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| 40 | 40 | | determines the petition is valid, each board of trustees shall |
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| 41 | 41 | | order an election to be held on the same date in each district. |
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| 42 | 42 | | (d) The boards of trustees shall report the results of the |
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| 43 | 43 | | election to the board [appropriate commissioners courts], which |
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| 44 | 44 | | shall declare the results of the election. The new school district |
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| 45 | 45 | | is created only if the proposition receives: |
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| 46 | 46 | | (1) a majority of the votes in the territory to be |
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| 47 | 47 | | detached; and |
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| 48 | 48 | | (2) a majority of the votes in the remaining territory |
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| 49 | 49 | | in each district from which property is to be detached [in the |
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| 50 | 50 | | manner prescribed by Section 13.003]. |
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| 51 | 51 | | SECTION 4. Section 13.105, Education Code, is amended to |
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| 52 | 52 | | read as follows: |
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| 53 | 53 | | Sec. 13.105. CREATION OF DISTRICT. (a) If all the |
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| 54 | 54 | | requirements of this subchapter are met, the board [commissioners |
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| 55 | 55 | | court] shall adopt a rule [enter an order] creating the new school |
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| 56 | 56 | | district. [If the new district contains territory in two or more |
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| 57 | 57 | | counties, the order must be concurred in by the commissioners court |
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| 58 | 58 | | of each county concerned.] |
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| 59 | 59 | | (b) At the time the rule [order] creating the district is |
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| 60 | 60 | | adopted [made], the board [commissioners court of the county in |
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| 61 | 61 | | which the largest portion of the district's territory is located] |
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| 62 | 62 | | shall appoint a board of seven trustees for the new district to |
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| 63 | 63 | | serve until the next regular election of trustees, when a board of |
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| 64 | 64 | | trustees shall be elected in compliance with Chapter 11. |
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| 65 | 65 | | (c) The board by rule shall equitably allocate the |
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| 66 | 66 | | indebtedness and personal property of each school district from |
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| 67 | 67 | | which territory was detached among those districts and the new |
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| 68 | 68 | | school district. |
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| 69 | 69 | | (d) In allocating indebtedness and personal property under |
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| 70 | 70 | | Subsection (c), the board shall consider the value of the property |
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| 71 | 71 | | and the taxable value of the school districts subject to the |
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| 72 | 72 | | allocation. |
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| 73 | 73 | | (e) Title to school district real property in the territory |
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| 74 | 74 | | detached vests in the new district. The new district assumes and is |
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| 75 | 75 | | liable for any portion of outstanding indebtedness of the district |
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| 76 | 76 | | from which the territory was detached that is allocated to the new |
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| 77 | 77 | | district under this section [Section 13.004]. |
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| 78 | 78 | | SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |
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