LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
                                   Austin, Texas
         
                                   FISCAL NOTE
                               75th Regular Session
         
                                  April 17, 1997
         
         
      TO: Honorable Paul Sadler, Chair            IN RE:  House Joint Resolution
                                                                No. 4, Committee Report 1st House, Substituted
          Committee on Revenue and Public Education Funding                              By: Craddick
          House
          Austin, Texas
         
         
         
         
         FROM:  John Keel, Director    
         
In response to your request for a Fiscal Note on HJR4 ( proposing 
a constitutional amendment to provide school ad valorem tax 
relief and replacement revenue for school districts.) this office 
has detemined the following:
         
         Biennial Net Impact to General Revenue Funds by HJR4-Committee Report 1st House, Substituted
         
The fiscal implication would depend on the enabling legislation. 
The Committee Substitute for House Bill 4 estimates the effects 
of the Committee Substitute for House Joint Resolution 4 and 
are included in the fiscal note on Committee Substitute for 
House Bill 4.

The cost to the state for publication of the 
resolution is $71,000.
         

         
 
The resolution proposes a constitutional amendment which, if 
adopted, would do the following:

(1) authorize the Legislature, 
by general law, to provide first priority or guaranteed draws 
on State revenue for the financial support for elementary and 
secondary public education; 

(2) exempt appropriations for 
elementary and secondary public schools from the 2-year limit 
on the duration of appropriations and from the Article VIII, 
Section 22, limit on the growth of certain appropriations

(3) 
 authorize the Legislature to impose a state property tax not 
to exceed $1.05 per $100 of valuation on non-residential property 
and dedicated the tax for of elementary and secondary public 
schools;

(4)  allow the Legislature to exempt, from the state 
property tax, property currently exempt form school district 
maintenance and operation taxes under an abatement granted before 
January 1, 1997; 

(5)  dedicate net lottery revenue to elementary 
and secondary public education;

(6)  exempt non-residential 
property from school district maintenance and operation taxes;

(7) 
 authorize the Legislature to impose a franchise or privilege 
tax on corporations, partnerships, and business entities other 
than sole proprietorships and exempt franchise and privilege 
taxes from Article VIII, Section 24 provisions related to the 
prohibition and disposition of a net personal income tax;

(8) 
 allow the Legislature to provide for the transfer of the sixty-five 
or over tax freeze to a different homestead and to set the freeze 
level at the lower of the current freeze level and the amount 
of 1997 schools district taxes;

(9)  repeal local option 
percentage homestead exemptions for school district maintenance 
and operations taxes; and

(10)  provide that freeport property 
currently taxed by school districts is not exempt from the state 
property tax.

The proposed amendment would be submitted to 
the voters on August 9, 1997.


          
   Source:            Agencies:   302   Office of the Attorney General
                                         304   Comptroller of Public Accounts
                                         
                      LBB Staff:   JK ,BR ,RS