By Culberson                                    H.J.R. No. 53

      75R1758 ESH-D                           

                                 A JOINT RESOLUTION

 1-1     proposing a constitutional amendment relating to the composition of

 1-2     the permanent and available school funds.

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

 1-4           SECTION 1.  Section 5(a), Article VII, Texas Constitution, is

 1-5     amended to read as follows:

 1-6           (a)  The principal of all bonds and other funds, and the

 1-7     principal arising from the sale of the lands hereinbefore set apart

 1-8     to said school fund, shall be the permanent school fund, and all

 1-9     the interest derivable therefrom and the taxes herein authorized

1-10     and levied shall be the available school fund.  Fifty percent of

1-11     the income from the mineral development of land constituting the

1-12     permanent school fund, including income from mineral development of

1-13     riverbeds and other submerged lands, shall not be part of the

1-14     permanent or available school fund but shall be appropriated

1-15     annually to the support of the public free schools.  The available

1-16     school fund shall be applied annually to the support of the public

1-17     free schools.  Except as provided by this section, no law shall

1-18     ever be enacted appropriating any part of the permanent or

1-19     available school fund to any other purpose whatever; nor shall the

1-20     same, or any part thereof ever be appropriated to or used for the

1-21     support of any sectarian school; and the available school fund

1-22     herein provided shall be distributed to the several counties

1-23     according to their scholastic population and applied in such manner

1-24     as may be provided by law.

 2-1           SECTION 2.  The following temporary provision is added to the

 2-2     Texas Constitution:

 2-3           TEMPORARY PROVISION.  (a)  This temporary provision applies

 2-4     to the constitutional amendment proposed by __J.R. No.____, 75th

 2-5     Legislature, Regular Session, 1997, and expires September 2, 1998.

 2-6           (b)  The amendment to Section 5(a), Article VII, of this

 2-7     constitution takes effect September 1, 1998.

 2-8           SECTION 3.  This proposed constitutional amendment shall be

 2-9     submitted to the voters at an election to be held November 4, 1997.

2-10     The ballot shall be printed to permit voting for or against the

2-11     proposition:  "The constitutional amendment requiring that income

2-12     from mineral rights to land dedicated to the permanent school fund

2-13     be used for the support of public schools."