By: Nelson, Bernsen S.B. No. 594
99S0461/1
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
1-1 relating to state assistance for certain school district
1-2 instructional facilities projects.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Section 46.006, Education Code, is amended to
1-5 read as follows:
1-6 Sec. 46.006. SHORTAGE OR EXCESS OF FUNDS APPROPRIATED FOR
1-7 NEW PROJECTS. (a) If the total amount appropriated for a year for
1-8 new projects is less than the amount of money to which school
1-9 districts applying for state assistance are entitled for that year,
1-10 the commissioner shall rank each school district applying by wealth
1-11 per student. For purposes of this section, a district's wealth per
1-12 student is reduced by 10 percent for each state fiscal biennium in
1-13 which the district did not receive assistance under this chapter.
1-14 The commissioner shall adjust the rankings after making the
1-15 reductions in wealth per student required by this subsection.
1-16 (b) In addition to any reduction of a district's wealth per
1-17 student required under Subsection (a), a further reduction may be
1-18 made for the purposes of this section if the district experienced
1-19 substantial student enrollment growth during the preceding
1-20 five-year period. If a district had enrollment growth of between
1-21 10 percent and 15 percent in the preceding five-year period, the
1-22 district's wealth is reduced by an additional five percent. If a
1-23 district had enrollment growth of between 15 percent and 30 percent
1-24 in the preceding five-year period, the district's wealth is reduced
2-1 by an additional 10 percent. If a district had enrollment growth
2-2 exceeding 30 percent in the preceding five-year period, the
2-3 district's wealth is reduced by an additional 15 percent. The
2-4 commissioner shall calculate the enrollment growth over the
2-5 preceding five-year period and adjust the rankings after making the
2-6 reductions in wealth per student required by this subsection.
2-7 (c) Beginning with the district with the lowest adjusted
2-8 wealth per student that has applied for state assistance for the
2-9 year, the commissioner shall award state assistance to districts
2-10 that have applied for state assistance in ascending order of
2-11 adjusted wealth per student. The commissioner shall award the full
2-12 amount of state assistance to which a district is entitled under
2-13 this chapter, except that the commissioner may award less than the
2-14 full amount to the last district for which any funds are available.
2-15 (d) [(c)] Any amount appropriated for the first year of a
2-16 fiscal biennium that is not awarded to a school district may be
2-17 used to provide assistance in the following fiscal year.
2-18 (e) [(d)] In this section, "wealth per student" means a
2-19 school district's taxable value of property as determined under
2-20 Subchapter M, Chapter 403, Government Code, divided by the
2-21 district's average daily attendance as determined under Section
2-22 42.005.
2-23 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
2-24 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the
2-25 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
2-26 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
3-1 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
3-2 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.