By:  Ogden                                                      S.J.R. No. 7  
	(In the Senate - Filed April 17, 2006; April 17, 2006, read 
first time and referred to Committee on Finance; May 12, 2006, 
reported adversely, with favorable Committee Substitute by the 
following vote:  Yeas 10, Nays 2; May 12, 2006, sent to printer.)


COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.J.R. No. 7                                    By:  Ogden

SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION
proposing a constitutional amendment establishing a maximum school district ad valorem tax rate for maintenance purposes and providing that an ad valorem tax imposed by a school district is not a state ad valorem tax. BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Section 3, Article VII, Texas Constitution, is amended by amending Subsections (d) and (e) and adding Subsections (f), (g), and (h) to read as follows: (d) The Legislature may provide for the formation of school districts by general laws, and all such school districts may embrace parts of two or more counties. [(e)] The Legislature by general law may provide [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. (e) The[, whether such districts are composed of territory wholly within a county or in parts of two or more counties, and the] Legislature may authorize an [additional] ad valorem tax to be levied and collected within all school districts for the [further] maintenance of public free schools at a rate not to exceed $1.15 for each $100 of taxable value of property in the district, and may authorize an additional ad valorem tax for the erection and equipment of school buildings. A school district may not levy or collect a tax under this subsection unless the tax is approved by [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 tax]. A tax levied and collected by a school district under this subsection is not a state ad valorem tax within the meaning of Section 1-e, Article VIII, of this constitution. (f) If before January 1, 2007, the voters of a school district authorized the district to levy and collect a tax under Subsection (e) of this section, the school district may continue to impose a tax under that subsection in 2007 and subsequent years without holding a new election to authorize the tax. An election held before January 1, 2007, authorizing a school district to levy and collect an ad valorem tax for the maintenance of public free schools at a rate of at least $1.15 for each $100 of taxable value of property in the district is sufficient to authorize a rate of $1.15 or less for the 2007 tax year and subsequent tax years. (g) The Legislature may pass laws for the creation of junior college districts, the management and control of those districts, and the imposition of ad valorem taxes in those districts. A junior college district may not impose a tax under this subsection unless the tax has been approved by a majority of the qualified voters of the district voting at an election held for that purpose. A junior college district is not a school district for purposes of this section. (h) If before January 1, 2007, the voters of a junior college district authorized the district to impose a tax under this section, the junior college district may continue to impose the tax for the 2007 tax year and subsequent tax years without holding a new election to authorize the tax. SECTION 2. The following temporary provision is added to the Texas Constitution: TEMPORARY PROVISION. (a) This temporary provision applies to the constitutional amendment proposed by the 79th Legislature, 3rd Called Session, 2006, establishing a maximum school district ad valorem tax rate for maintenance purposes and providing that an ad valorem tax imposed by a school district is not a state ad valorem tax. (b) The amendments to Section 3, Article VII, of this constitution take effect January 1, 2007, and apply only to a tax year beginning on or after that date. SECTION 3. This proposed constitutional amendment shall be submitted to the voters at an election to be held November 7, 2006. The ballot shall be printed to permit voting for or against the proposition: "The constitutional amendment establishing a maximum school district ad valorem tax rate for maintenance purposes and providing that an ad valorem tax imposed by a school district is not a state ad valorem tax."
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