By Hernandez                                         H.J.R. No. 109
                                  A JOINT RESOLUTION
    1-1  proposing a constitutional amendment to require the legislature to
    1-2  appropriate sufficient amounts to assist school districts in
    1-3  providing free textbooks to their students.
    1-4        BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
    1-5        SECTION 1.  Article VII, Section 3, Texas Constitution is
    1-6  amended to read as follows:
    1-7        Sec. 3.  One-fourth of the revenue derived from the State
    1-8  occupation taxes and poll tax of one dollar on every inhabitant of
    1-9  the State, between the ages of twenty-one and sixty years, shall be
   1-10  set apart annually for the benefit of the public free schools; <and
   1-11  in addition thereto, there shall be levied and collected an annual
   1-12  ad valorem State tax of such an amount not to exceed thirty-five
   1-13  cents on the one hundred ($100.00) dollars valuation, as with the
   1-14  available school fund arising from all other sources, will be
   1-15  sufficient to maintain and support the public schools of this State
   1-16  for a period of not less than six months in each year,> and it
   1-17  shall be the duty of the Legislature <State Board of Education> to
   1-18  appropriate <set aside a sufficient> amounts from <amount of> the
   1-19  available school fund and other available funds <said tax> to
   1-20  assist school districts in providing <provide> free textbooks <text
   1-21  books> for the use of children attending the public free schools of
   1-22  this State; provided, however, that should the limit of taxation
   1-23  herein named be insufficient the deficit may be met by
    2-1  appropriation from the general funds of the State and the
    2-2  Legislature may also provide for the formation of school district
    2-3  by general laws; and all such school districts may embrace parts of
    2-4  two or more counties, and the Legislature shall be authorized to
    2-5  pass laws for the assessment and collection of taxes in all said
    2-6  districts and for the management and control of the public school
    2-7  or schools of such districts, whether such districts are composed
    2-8  of territory wholly within a county or in parts of two or more
    2-9  counties, and the Legislature may authorize an additional ad
   2-10  valorem tax to be levied and collected within all school districts
   2-11  heretofore formed or hereafter formed, for the further maintenance
   2-12  of public free schools, and for the erection and equipment of
   2-13  school buildings therein; provided that a majority of the qualified
   2-14  property taxpaying voters of the district voting at an election to
   2-15  be held for that purpose, shall vote such tax not to exceed in any
   2-16  one year one ($1.00) dollar on the one hundred dollars valuation of
   2-17  the property subject to taxation in such district, but the
   2-18  limitation upon the amount of school district tax herein authorized
   2-19  shall not apply to incorporated cities or towns constituting
   2-20  separate and independent school districts, nor to independent or
   2-21  common school districts created by general or special law.
   2-22        SECTION 2.  This proposed constitutional amendment shall be
   2-23  submitted to the voters at an election to be held November 2, 1993.
   2-24  The ballot shall be printed to provide for voting for or against
   2-25  the following proposition:  "The constitutional amendment requiring
    3-1  the state to assist school districts in providing free textbooks to
    3-2  their students."