By Culberson                                    H.J.R. No. 10

      75R4677 CAS-D                           

                                 A JOINT RESOLUTION

 1-1     proposing a constitutional amendment relating to the support and

 1-2     maintenance and an efficient system of public schools.

 1-3           BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-4           SECTION 1.  Section 1, Article VII, Texas Constitution, is

 1-5     amended to read as follows:

 1-6           Sec. 1.  A general diffusion of knowledge being essential to

 1-7     the preservation of the liberties and rights of the people, it

 1-8     shall be the duty of the Legislature of the State to establish and

 1-9     make suitable provision for the support and maintenance of an

1-10     efficient system of public free schools so that every school

1-11     district will have substantially equal access to similar revenues

1-12     per student at similar levels of tax effort.  A statute enacted by

1-13     the Legislature to provide for an efficient system or to provide

1-14     for its support and maintenance is presumed to meet the

1-15     requirements of this constitution if the statute rationally

1-16     furthers a legitimate State purpose or interest such as efficiency

1-17     or local control.

1-18           SECTION 2.  Section 3,  Article VII, Texas Constitution, is

1-19     amended to read as follows:

1-20           Sec. 3.  (a)  One-fourth of the revenue derived from the

1-21     State occupation taxes [and poll tax of one dollar on every

1-22     inhabitant of the State, between the ages of twenty-one and sixty

1-23     years,] shall be set apart annually for the benefit of the public

1-24     free schools; [and in addition thereto, there shall be levied and

 2-1     collected an annual ad valorem State tax of such an amount not to

 2-2     exceed thirty-five cents on the one hundred ($100.00) dollars

 2-3     valuation, as with the available school fund arising from all other

 2-4     sources, will be sufficient to maintain and support the public

 2-5     schools of this State for a period of not less than six months in

 2-6     each year,] and it shall be the duty of the State Board of

 2-7     Education to set aside a sufficient amount [out] of revenue [the

 2-8     said tax] to provide free text books for the use of children

 2-9     attending the public free schools of this State.  The Legislature

2-10     may make appropriations[; provided, however, that should the limit

2-11     of taxation herein named be insufficient the deficit may be met by

2-12     appropriation] from the general funds of the State for the support

2-13     of the public free schools, and a statute enacted by the

2-14     Legislature setting the amount of those appropriations or the

2-15     method by which they are distributed is presumed to meet the

2-16     requirements of this constitution if the statute rationally

2-17     furthers a legitimate State purpose or interest such as efficiency

2-18     or local control.

2-19           (b)  The [and the] Legislature may also provide for the

2-20     formation of school districts [district] by general laws; and all

2-21     such school districts may embrace parts of two or more counties,

2-22     and the Legislature shall be authorized to pass laws [for the

2-23     assessment and collection of taxes in all said districts and] for

2-24     the management and control of the public school or schools of such

2-25     districts, whether such districts are composed of territory wholly

2-26     within a county or in parts of two or more counties.  The[, and

2-27     the] Legislature by general law may authorize each school district

 3-1     to impose an [additional] ad valorem local tax [to be levied and

 3-2     collected within all school districts heretofore formed or

 3-3     hereafter formed,] for the further maintenance of public free

 3-4     schools, and for the erection and equipment of school buildings

 3-5     therein; provided that a majority of the qualified property

 3-6     taxpaying voters of the district voting at an election to be held

 3-7     for that purpose, shall vote such tax not to exceed in any one year

 3-8     one ($1.00) dollar on the one hundred dollars valuation of the

 3-9     property subject to taxation in such district, but the limitation

3-10     upon the amount of school district tax herein authorized shall not

3-11     apply to incorporated cities or towns constituting separate and

3-12     independent school districts, nor to independent or common school

3-13     districts created by general or special law.

3-14           (c)  A law authorized by this section providing for the

3-15     imposition of local taxes by school districts is presumed to meet

3-16     the requirements of this constitution if there is any evidence that

3-17     the law rationally furthers a legitimate State purpose or interest.

3-18           SECTION 3.  (a)  The constitutional amendment proposed by

3-19     this resolution shall be submitted to the voters at an election to

3-20     be held November 4, 1997.

3-21           (b)  The constitutional amendment proposed by this resolution

3-22     shall be printed on the ballot as one proposition and in a manner

3-23     to permit voting for or against the proposition:  "The

3-24     constitutional amendment:

3-25                 (1)  providing for equal educational opportunity;

3-26                 (2)  providing for local control by all school

3-27     districts of local taxes levied for the support of public schools;

 4-1                 (3)  providing for legislative control of the methods

 4-2     by which state funds are distributed to school districts and by

 4-3     which school districts are formed; and

 4-4                 (4)  restricting the power of the courts to overturn a

 4-5     legislative decision regarding the system of or support for public

 4-6     education by adopting federal constitutional law that also

 4-7     preserves equal access to the courts."