By: Seliger  S.B. No. 2274
         (In the Senate - Filed March 13, 2009; March 31, 2009, read
  first time and referred to Committee on Finance; April 21, 2009,
  reported favorably by the following vote:  Yeas  14, Nays 0;
  April 21, 2009, sent to printer.)
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
 
  relating to the authority of a school district to impose ad valorem
  taxes.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 26.08, Tax Code, is amended by adding
  Subsection (p) to read as follows:
         (p)  Notwithstanding Subsections (i), (n), and (o), if for
  the preceding tax year the district adopted a maintenance and
  operations tax rate that was less than the district's effective
  maintenance and operations tax rate for that preceding tax year,
  the rollback tax rate of the district for the current tax year is
  calculated as if the district adopted a maintenance and operations
  tax rate for the preceding tax year that was equal to the district's
  effective maintenance and operations tax rate for that preceding
  tax year.
         SECTION 2.  Subsection (a), Section 45.001, Education Code,
  is amended to read as follows:
         (a)  The governing board of an independent school district,
  including the city council or commission that has jurisdiction over
  a municipally controlled independent school district, the
  governing board of a rural high school district, and the
  commissioners court of a county, on behalf of each common school
  district under its jurisdiction, may:
               (1)  issue bonds for:
                     (A)  the construction, acquisition, and equipment
  of school buildings in the district;
                     (B)  the acquisition of property or the
  refinancing of property financed under a contract entered under
  Subchapter A, Chapter 271, Local Government Code, regardless of
  whether payment obligations under the contract are due in the
  current year or a future year;
                     (C)  the purchase of the necessary sites for
  school buildings; and
                     (D)  the purchase of new school buses; and
               (2)  may levy, pledge, assess, and collect annual ad
  valorem taxes sufficient to pay the principal of and interest on the
  bonds as or before the principal and interest become due, subject to
  Section 45.003.
         SECTION 2.  (a)  The change in law made by this Act applies
  to the ad valorem tax rate of a school district beginning with the
  2009 tax year, except as provided by Subsection (b) of this section.
         (b)  If the governing body of a school district adopted an ad
  valorem tax rate for the school district for the 2009 tax year
  before the effective date of this Act, the change in law made by
  this Act applies to the ad valorem tax rate of that school district
  beginning with the 2010 tax year, and the law in effect when the tax
  rate was adopted applies to the 2009 tax year with respect to that
  school district.
         SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
  a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
  provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
  Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
  Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
 
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