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.