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House Bill 2217 |
House Author: McCall |
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Effective: 6-18-05 |
Senate Sponsor: Staples |
House Bill 2217 amends provisions of the Natural Resources Code relating to the authority of the School Land Board and the General Land Office over public school land and the permanent school fund. The bill eliminates restrictions on the land office that prohibited the purchase of land for more than market value and the sale of land for less than market value. The bill redefines "market value" to use the Tax Code's definition and expands the land board's authority over public school land to include the full spectrum of management activities, including improvement of the land. The bill clarifies that permanent school fund land is under the exclusive jurisdiction of the land board and the commissioner of the land office and authorizes the land board to set such terms and conditions for land transactions and management as the board finds in the best interest of the fund. The land board is required to report to the Legislative Budget Board on an annual basis any sale of land for less than the appraisal value or any purchase that exceeds the appraisal value. The bill includes provisions for the land board to lease land that includes groundwater production. The bill provides a limit on the amount of the fund that can be used for real estate investment. It also authorizes the land board to appoint investment managers and sets out provisions relating to appointment and compensation, ethics policy and training, conflict of interest and financial disclosure, reports of expenditures, and public information. The land board is required to submit two economic impact reports to the legislature on a biennial basis, one addressing anticipated impact and the other addressing return and economic impact of the investments.