By Luna                                         S.B. No. 1308

      75R7391 ESH-D                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to standards for public school facilities and the public

 1-3     school facilities assistance program.

 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-5           SECTION 1.  Section 42.352, Education Code, is amended to

 1-6     read as follows:

 1-7           Sec. 42.352.  STANDARDS.  (a)  The State Board of Education

 1-8     shall establish standards for adequacy of school facilities.  The

 1-9     standards shall include requirements related to space, educational

1-10     adequacy, [and] construction quality, and energy efficiency.

1-11           (b)  The standards for energy efficiency shall be jointly

1-12     developed by the agency and the energy management center in the

1-13     General Services Commission.

1-14           (c)  All facilities constructed after September 1, 1992, must

1-15     meet the standards for space, educational adequacy, and

1-16     construction  quality in order to be financed with state or local

1-17     tax funds.  All facilities constructed after September 1, 1998,

1-18     must meet the standards for  energy efficiency in order to be

1-19     financed with state or local tax funds.

1-20           SECTION 2.  Section 42.404, Education Code, is amended to

1-21     read as follows:

1-22           Sec. 42.404.  SUPPLEMENTAL STATE ASSISTANCE FOR SMALL SCHOOL

1-23     DISTRICTS.  (a)  In addition to the amount determined under Section

1-24     42.403, a district is entitled to supplemental state assistance if:

 2-1                 (1)  the district's average daily attendance is less

 2-2     than the product of the quotient of the average daily attendance

 2-3     for all school districts in the state, as determined under Section

 2-4     42.401, divided by the weighted average daily attendance for all

 2-5     school districts in the state, as determined under Section 42.401,

 2-6     multiplied by 2,500; and

 2-7                 (2)  the district has:

 2-8                       (A)  a rate of enrollment growth that exceeds

 2-9     five percent per year for three of the four preceding school years;

2-10     and

2-11                       (B)  a growth in enrollment that exceeds 15

2-12     percent for the preceding four-year period.

2-13           (b)  The amount of supplemental state assistance to which a

2-14     school district is entitled is the lesser of the amounts determined

2-15     by the following formulas:

2-17     where:

2-18           "SSA" is the amount of supplemental state assistance;

2-19           "SA" is the amount of state assistance determined under

2-20     Section 42.403;

2-21           "DPV" is the district's taxable value of property, as

2-22     determined under Subchapter M, Chapter 403, Government Code; and

2-23           "PC" is the total cost of the project; or

2-25     where:

2-26           "SSA" is the amount of supplemental state assistance;

2-27           "SA" is the amount of state assistance determined under

 3-1     Section 42.403; and

 3-2           "PC" is the total cost of the project.

 3-3           (c) [(b)]  If the lesser of the amounts determined by the

 3-4     formulas in Subsection (b) [(a)] is less than zero, the district is

 3-5     not entitled to supplemental state assistance.

 3-6           SECTION 3.  Section 42.405, Education Code, is amended by

 3-7     adding Subsection (g) to read as follows:

 3-8           (g)  A district that receives assistance under this

 3-9     subchapter is encouraged to increase the energy efficiency of the

3-10     project by:

3-11                 (1)  contacting the energy management center in the

3-12     General Services Commission for assistance in incorporating

3-13     energy-efficient strategies  into new and existing facilities and

3-14     in establishing an energy management program; or

3-15                 (2)  obtaining a loan under Section 2305.065,

3-16     Government Code, to finance the incremental cost of incorporating

3-17     energy-efficient technologies  into the project.

3-18           SECTION 4.  Section 42.406, Education Code, is amended to

3-19     read as follows:

3-20           Sec. 42.406.  LIMITATION ON ASSISTANCE.  (a)  If a district

3-21     has not previously received assistance under this  subchapter, the

3-22     [The] cost of a project for which the [a] district may receive

3-23     assistance under this subchapter may not  exceed the greater of:

3-24                 (1)  $500,000; or

3-25                 (2)  the product of the number of students in average

3-26     daily attendance in the district multiplied by $266.

3-27           (b)  If a district has previously received assistance under

 4-1     this subchapter, the cost of a project for which the district may

 4-2     receive  assistance under this subchapter may not exceed the

 4-3     greater of:

 4-4                 (1)  the amount determined under Subsection (c); or

 4-5                 (2)  the product of the number of students in average

 4-6     daily attendance in the district multiplied by $266.

 4-7           (c)  If a school district that is eligible for assistance

 4-8     under Section 42.402 does not request assistance although funds are

 4-9     available under Section 42.407, and the district requests

4-10     assistance in a subsequent biennium, the maximum cost of the

4-11     project for which the district may receive assistance is equal to

4-12     the maximum project cost determined under Subsection (a) plus an

4-13     amount equal to 80 percent of the project cost for which the

4-14     district was originally eligible.

4-15           (d)  For purposes of Sections 42.403, 42.404, and 42.407, a

4-16     project that has a cost that exceeds the applicable limit

4-17     prescribed by  this section [Subsection (a)] is treated as if the

4-18     cost equals the applicable limit.

4-19           SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

4-20           SECTION 6.  The Texas Education Agency and the energy

4-21     management center in the General Services Commission shall develop

4-22     standards for energy efficiency of school facilities as required by

4-23     Section 42.352, Education Code, as amended by this Act, not later

4-24     than April 1, 1998.

4-25           SECTION 7.  The importance of this legislation and the

4-26     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

4-27     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

 5-1     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

 5-2     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.