78S40056 KKA/CBH-D

By:  Griggs                                                     H.J.R. No. 5  


A JOINT RESOLUTION
proposing a constitutional amendment relating to the state's duty to fund the public school system. BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Article VII, Texas Constitution, is amended by adding Section 1A to read as follows: Sec. 1A. (a) In meeting its duty under Section 1 of this article to make suitable provision for the support and maintenance of an efficient system of public free schools, the Legislature shall provide state funding in an amount that constitutes at least 50 percent of the cost of maintaining and operating the system of public free schools. (b) If adequate sources of revenue are not otherwise available to the state for purposes of Subsection (a) of this section, all money coming into the treasury in a fiscal year in excess of the amount of money in the treasury during the preceding fiscal year, as determined by the comptroller of public accounts, is dedicated to be used for the support and maintenance of the public free schools. Any portion of the amount dedicated by this subsection that is not required for the support and maintenance of the public free schools may be used for any other state purpose. In computing the amount of money in the treasury for purposes of this subsection, money otherwise dedicated by this constitution is not included. (c) Subsection (a) of this section applies beginning with the 2005-2006 school year. Subsection (b) of this section applies beginning with the fiscal year that begins September 1, 2005. This subsection expires September 1, 2006. SECTION 2. Section 3, Article VII, Texas Constitution, is amended by amending Subsection (e) and adding Subsection (f) to read as follows: (e) The Legislature shall be authorized to pass laws for the assessment and collection of taxes in all school districts and for the management and control of the public school or schools of such districts, whether such districts are composed of territory wholly within a county or in parts of two or more counties. Notwithstanding Section 1-e, Article VIII, of this constitution, the Legislature may require school districts to impose, without voter approval, an ad valorem tax at a rate specified by the Legislature for the benefit of the public free schools and to remit a portion of that tax to the comptroller of public accounts for providing state funding as required by Section 1A(a) of this article. The[, and the] Legislature may also authorize an additional ad valorem tax to be levied and collected within all school districts for the further maintenance of public free schools, and for the erection and equipment of school buildings therein; provided that a majority of the qualified voters of the district voting at an election [to be] held for that purpose[, shall] approve the additional tax. (f) If the Legislature by general law enacted after January 1, 2004, dedicates state tax revenue to the foundation school fund, the Legislature may not, during that legislative session or any subsequent legislative session, remove, repeal, or decrease that dedication. An Act removing, repealing, or decreasing a dedication that is enacted by the Legislature during the legislative session in which the dedication is made, regardless of date of relative enactment, or such an Act enacted during a subsequent legislative session, has no effect. SECTION 3. Article VIII, Texas Constitution, is amended by adding Section 25 to read as follows: Sec. 25. (a) The Legislature by general law may authorize an individual to choose to pay a tax on the individual's taxable income and to receive a refund of the state sales and use taxes the individual is imputed to have paid during the tax year. (b) The net revenue from the tax authorized under this section shall be deposited to the credit of the foundation school fund. (c) Section 24 of this article does not apply to a tax authorized under this section. SECTION 4. This proposed constitutional amendment shall be submitted to the voters at an election to be held _____________. The ballot shall be printed to permit voting for or against the proposition: "The constitutional amendment requiring the state to pay at least 50 percent of the cost of the public school system and providing for sources of revenue for that purpose."