Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HJR85 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R5379 KJE-F
2	2	By: Lambert H.J.R. No. 85
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7	7	A JOINT RESOLUTION
8	8	proposing a constitutional amendment providing for the creation of
9	9	funds to support the capital needs of educational programs offered
10	10	by the Texas State Technical College System and certain component
11	11	institutions of the Texas State University System and repealing the
12	12	limitation on the allocation to the Texas State Technical College
13	13	System and its campuses of the annual appropriation of certain
14	14	constitutionally dedicated funding for public institutions of
15	15	higher education.
16	16	BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
17	17	SECTION 1. Article VII, Texas Constitution, is amended by
18	18	adding Section 21 to read as follows:
19	19	Sec. 21. (a) In this section:
20	20	(1) "Available fund" means the available instruction
21	21	in manufacturing and technical workforce operations fund.
22	22	(2) "Permanent fund" means the permanent instruction
23	23	in manufacturing and technical workforce operations fund.
24	24	(b) The permanent instruction in manufacturing and
25	25	technical workforce operations fund and the available instruction
26	26	in manufacturing and technical workforce operations fund are
27	27	established as special funds in the state treasury outside the
28	28	general revenue fund to be administered as provided by this section
29	29	without further appropriation for the purpose of providing a
30	30	dedicated source of funding for capital projects and equipment
31	31	purchases related to educational programs offered by the Texas
32	32	State Technical College System and component institutions of the
33	33	Texas State University System described by Subsection (k) of this
34	34	section.
35	35	(c) The permanent fund consists of:
36	36	(1) money appropriated, credited, transferred, or
37	37	deposited to the credit of the fund by this section or as authorized
38	38	by other law;
39	39	(2) any interest or other earnings attributable to the
40	40	investment of money in the fund; and
41	41	(3) gifts, grants, and donations made to the fund.
42	42	(d) The available fund consists of:
43	43	(1) money distributed to the fund from the permanent
44	44	fund as provided by this section;
45	45	(2) money appropriated, credited, transferred, or
46	46	deposited to the credit of the fund by this section or as authorized
47	47	by other law;
48	48	(3) any interest or other earnings attributable to the
49	49	investment of money in the fund; and
50	50	(4) gifts, grants, and donations made to the fund.
51	51	(e) The comptroller of public accounts, the board of regents
52	52	of the Texas State Technical College System, or the board of regents
53	53	of the Texas State University System may establish accounts in the
54	54	available fund as necessary to administer the fund or pay for
55	55	projects authorized under this section.
56	56	(f) The comptroller of public accounts shall hold, manage,
57	57	and invest the permanent fund. In managing the assets of the fund,
58	58	the comptroller may acquire, exchange, sell, supervise, manage, or
59	59	retain any kind of investment that a prudent investor, exercising
60	60	reasonable care, skill, and caution, would acquire or retain in
61	61	light of the purposes, terms, distribution needs, and other
62	62	circumstances of the fund, taking into consideration the investment
63	63	of all the assets of the fund rather than a single investment. The
64	64	expenses of managing the investments of the fund shall be paid from
65	65	the fund.
66	66	(g) Money may not be appropriated or transferred from the
67	67	permanent fund or the available fund except as provided by this
68	68	section.
69	69	(h) The comptroller of public accounts shall determine the
70	70	amount available for distribution from the permanent fund to the
71	71	available fund for each fiscal year. The amount available for
72	72	distribution:
73	73	(1) must be determined in a manner intended to:
74	74	(A) provide the available fund with a stable and
75	75	predictable stream of annual distributions; and
76	76	(B) preserve over a rolling 10-year period the
77	77	purchasing power of the permanent fund; and
78	78	(2) may not exceed 5.5 percent of the fair market value
79	79	of the investment assets of the permanent fund, as determined by the
80	80	comptroller.
81	81	(i) For each state fiscal year, on request of the board of
82	82	regents of the Texas State Technical College System or the board of
83	83	regents of the Texas State University System, the comptroller of
84	84	public accounts shall distribute an amount that does not exceed the
85	85	amount determined under Subsection (h) of this section from the
86	86	permanent fund to the available fund for purposes of this section.
87	87	(j) Out of the distribution from the permanent fund to the
88	88	available fund under Subsection (i) of this section, two-thirds is
89	89	appropriated to the board of regents of the Texas State Technical
90	90	College System and, subject to Subsection (k) of this section,
91	91	one-third is appropriated to the board of regents of the Texas State
92	92	University System for:
93	93	(1) acquiring land, either with or without permanent
94	94	improvements;
95	95	(2) constructing and equipping buildings or other
96	96	permanent improvements;
97	97	(3) major repair and rehabilitation of buildings and
98	98	other permanent improvements;
99	99	(4) acquiring capital equipment, including
100	100	instructional equipment, virtual reality or augmented reality
101	101	equipment, heavy industrial equipment, and vehicles;
102	102	(5) acquiring library books and materials, including
103	103	digital or electronic library books and materials;
104	104	(6) payment of the principal and interest due on the
105	105	bonds and notes issued by the respective board of regents to finance
106	106	permanent improvements as authorized by other law; and
107	107	(7) any other purpose authorized by general law.
108	108	(k) The board of regents of the Texas State University
109	109	System may use money appropriated under Subsection (j) of this
110	110	section only for the benefit of:
111	111	(1) the Lamar Institute of Technology;
112	112	(2) Lamar State College--Orange;
113	113	(3) Lamar State College--Port Arthur; or
114	114	(4) pursuant to a majority vote of the legislature, an
115	115	institution of higher education created as a part of or added to the
116	116	system on or after January 1, 2026.
117	117	(l) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section,
118	118	money appropriated from the available fund under this section may
119	119	not be used for the purpose of constructing, equipping, repairing,
120	120	or rehabilitating buildings or other permanent improvements that
121	121	are to be used for intercollegiate athletics or auxiliary
122	122	enterprises.
123	123	(m) An institution, other than a component institution of
124	124	the Texas State Technical College System or a component institution
125	125	of the Texas State University System described by Subsection (k) of
126	126	this section, that is entitled to participate in dedicated funding
127	127	provided by Section 17 or 18 of this article may not be entitled to
128	128	participate in the funding provided by this section.
129	129	(n) This section does not impair any obligation created by
130	130	the issuance of bonds or notes in accordance with prior law,
131	131	including bonds or notes issued under Section 17 of this article,
132	132	and all outstanding bonds and notes shall be paid in full, both
133	133	principal and interest, in accordance with their terms. If this
134	134	section conflicts with any other provision of this constitution,
135	135	this section prevails.
136	136	(o) Money appropriated under Subsection (j) of this section
137	137	that is not spent during the state fiscal year for which the
138	138	appropriation is made is retained by the Texas State Technical
139	139	College System or the Texas State University System, as applicable,
140	140	and may be spent in a subsequent state fiscal year for a purpose for
141	141	which the appropriation was made.
142	142	(o-1) On January 1, 2026, the amount of $1,500,000,000 is
143	143	appropriated from the general revenue fund to the comptroller of
144	144	public accounts for the purpose of immediate deposit to the credit
145	145	of the permanent fund. This subsection expires December 31, 2026.
146	146	(p) For purposes of Section 22, Article VIII, of this
147	147	constitution:
148	148	(1) money in the permanent fund and the available fund
149	149	is dedicated by this constitution; and
150	150	(2) an appropriation of state tax revenues for the
151	151	purpose of depositing money to the credit of the permanent fund or
152	152	the available fund is treated as if it were an appropriation of
153	153	revenues dedicated by this constitution.
154	154	(q) If a board of regents of a higher education system,
155	155	higher education system, institution of higher education, or state
156	156	office referenced in this section is merged with another entity or
157	157	dissolved or otherwise eliminated by law, the rights, privileges,
158	158	benefits, entitlements, funding, duties, and obligations assigned
159	159	to that board of regents, system, institution, or state office by
160	160	this section pass to its successor in function.
161	161	SECTION 2. Section 17(j), Article VII, Texas Constitution,
162	162	is amended to read as follows:
163	163	(j) The state systems and institutions of higher education
164	164	designated in this section may not receive any additional funds
165	165	from the general revenue of the state, other than money
166	166	appropriated under Section 21 of this article, for acquiring land
167	167	with or without permanent improvements, for constructing or
168	168	equipping buildings or other permanent improvements, or for major
169	169	repair and rehabilitation of buildings or other permanent
170	170	improvements except that:
171	171	(1) in the case of fire or natural disaster the
172	172	legislature may appropriate from the general revenue an amount
173	173	sufficient to replace the uninsured loss of any building or other
174	174	permanent improvement; and
175	175	(2) the legislature, by two-thirds vote of each house,
176	176	may, in cases of demonstrated need, which need must be clearly
177	177	expressed in the body of the act, appropriate additional general
178	178	revenue funds for acquiring land with or without permanent
179	179	improvements, for constructing or equipping buildings or other
180	180	permanent improvements, or for major repair and rehabilitation of
181	181	buildings or other permanent improvements.
182	182	This subsection does not apply to legislative appropriations
183	183	made prior to the adoption of this amendment.
184	184	SECTION 3. Section 18(c), Article VII, Texas Constitution,
185	185	is amended to read as follows:
186	186	(c) Pursuant to a two-thirds vote of the membership of each
187	187	house of the legislature, institutions of higher education may be
188	188	created at a later date as a part of The University of Texas System
189	189	or The Texas A&M University System by general law, and, when
190	190	created, such an institution shall be entitled to participate in
191	191	the funding provided by this section for the system in which it is
192	192	created. An institution that is entitled to participate in
193	193	dedicated funding provided by [Article VII,] Section 17 or 21[,] of
194	194	this article [constitution] may not be entitled to participate in
195	195	the funding provided by this section.
196	196	SECTION 4. Section 17(d-1), Article VII, Texas
197	197	Constitution, is repealed.
198	198	SECTION 5. This proposed constitutional amendment shall be
199	199	submitted to the voters at an election to be held November 4, 2025.
200	200	The ballot shall be printed to permit voting for or against the
201	201	proposition: "The constitutional amendment providing for the
202	202	creation of the permanent instruction in manufacturing and
203	203	technical workforce operations fund and the available instruction
204	204	in manufacturing and technical workforce operations fund to support
205	205	the capital needs of educational programs offered by the Texas
206	206	State Technical College System and certain component institutions
207	207	of the Texas State University System and repealing the limitation
208	208	on the allocation to the Texas State Technical College System and
209	209	its campuses of the annual appropriation of certain
210	210	constitutionally dedicated funding for public institutions of
211	211	higher education."