By: Ogden S.B. No. 1082
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to loans from the permanent school fund for the
acquisition of rights-of-way for the state highway system.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 222, Transportation Code,
is amended by adding Section 222.003 to read as follows:
Sec. 222.003. LOANS FROM PERMANENT SCHOOL FUND. (a) On
terms and conditions agreed on by the department and the State Board
of Education, the department may borrow from the permanent school
fund for the purpose of acquiring rights-of-way for the state
highway system.
(b) The State Board of Education may make a loan under this
section upon determining that the terms of the agreement governing
the loan provide for the payment of interest at a rate at least
equal to the greater of:
(1) the minimum interest rate prescribed by Section
5a, Article VII, Texas Constitution; or
(2) the current average interest earnings yield on all
fixed-income investments of the permanent school fund as of the
date the loan is made.
(c) The agreement must be secured by a pledge of the first
money coming into the state highway fund.
(d) The department may not use the proceeds of a loan made
under this section for the construction of a state highway or other
facility of the Trans Texas Corridor. For purposes of this
subsection, "Trans Texas Corridor" means a statewide system of
multimodal transportation facilities under the department's
jurisdiction and as designated by the commission, regardless of the
name given to the system.
SECTION 2. Chapter 43, Education Code, is amended by adding
Section 43.020 to read as follows:
Sec. 43.020. LOANS FOR HIGHWAY RIGHTS-OF-WAY. As provided
by Section 5a, Article VII, Texas Constitution, the State Board of
Education may make loans from the permanent school fund to the Texas
Department of Transportation for the purpose of acquiring
rights-of-way for the state highway system.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect on the date on which the
constitutional amendment proposed by S.J.R. No. 43, 78th
Legislature, Regular Session, 2003, takes effect. If that
amendment is not approved by the voters, this Act has no effect.