By McCall, Ehrhardt                                     H.B. No. 41

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to the authority of a school district to permit certain

 1-3     persons to perform services for the district in lieu of paying ad

 1-4     valorem taxes owed to the district.

 1-5           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-6           SECTION 1.  Chapter 31, Tax Code, is amended by adding

 1-7     Section 31.035 to read as follows:

 1-8           Sec. 31.035.  PERFORMANCE OF SERVICE IN LIEU OF PAYMENT OF

 1-9     SCHOOL TAXES ON HOMESTEAD OF ELDERLY PERSON.  (a)  The governing

1-10     body of a school district by resolution may permit individuals who

1-11     are at least 65 years of age to perform service for the school

1-12     district in lieu of paying taxes imposed by the district on

1-13     property owned and occupied as a residence homestead.

1-14           (b)  The governing body of the school district shall

1-15     determine:

1-16                 (1)  the number of property owners who will be

1-17     permitted to perform service for the district under this section;

1-18     and

1-19                 (2)  the maximum number of hours of service that a

1-20     property owner may perform for the district under this section.

1-21           (c)  The governing body shall require that each property

1-22     owner permitted to perform service for the district under this

1-23     section execute a contract with the district.  The contract must be

1-24     executed before the delinquency date and must:

 2-1                 (1)  specify:

 2-2                       (A)  the nature of the service that the property

 2-3     owner will perform for the district;

 2-4                       (B)  the facility of the district where service

 2-5     will be performed;

 2-6                       (C)  the number of hours of service the property

 2-7     owner will perform; and

 2-8                       (D)  the dates and times when the property owner

 2-9     will perform service; and

2-10                 (2)  set out or describe the provisions of Subsections

2-11     (d), (e), and (f).

2-12           (d)  For each hour of service performed for the school

2-13     district, the property owner receives a credit against the taxes

2-14     owed in an amount equal to the amount that would be earned by

2-15     working one hour at the federal hourly minimum wage rate.

2-16           (e)  If the property owner fails to perform the service, or

2-17     if the district determines that the service of the property owner

2-18     is unsatisfactory, the district shall terminate the contract.  On

2-19     the termination date the unpaid taxes for which the property owner

2-20     was to receive credit under the contract for service not yet

2-21     performed become delinquent and incur the penalty and interest

2-22     provided by Section 33.01.

2-23           (f)  While performing service for a school district, the

2-24     property owner:

2-25                 (1)  is not an employee of the district; and

2-26                 (2)  is not entitled to any benefit, including workers'

2-27     compensation coverage, that the district provides to an employee of

 3-1     the district.

 3-2           SECTION 2.  Section 42.302, Education Code, is amended by

 3-3     adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:

 3-4           (c)  For purposes of this section, school district taxes for

 3-5     which credit is granted under Section 31.035, Tax Code, are

 3-6     considered taxes collected by the school district as if the taxes

 3-7     were paid when the credit for the taxes was granted.

 3-8           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the

 3-9     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

3-10     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

3-11     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

3-12     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,

3-13     and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its

3-14     passage, and it is so enacted.