86R12266 MEW-F

By: Goodwin H.B. No. 3288

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the review and approval of certain charter district bonds by the Bond Review Board and an annual financial report by charter districts.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 12.135, Education Code, is amended by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:

(c) Any bonds subject to an application under Subsection (b) are subject to Chapter 1231, Government Code.

SECTION 2. Section 45.0541, Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 45.0541. ELIGIBILITY OF CHARTER DISTRICT BONDS. To be eligible for approval by the commissioner, charter district bonds must:

(1) without the guarantee, be rated as investment grade by a nationally recognized investment rating firm; [and]

(2) be issued under Chapter 53; and

(3) be reviewed and approved by the Bond Review Board in the manner provided under Chapter 1231, Government Code.

SECTION 3. Section 140.008(a)(2), Local Government Code, is amended to read as follows:

(2) "Political subdivision" means a county, municipality, school district, open-enrollment charter school designated as a charter district under Section 12.135, Education Code, junior college district, other special district, or other subdivision of state government.

SECTION 4. Sections 12.135 and 45.0541, Education Code, as amended by this Act, apply only to a bond issued, refunded, or refinanced on or after the effective date of this Act by an open-enrollment charter school designated as a charter district. A bond issued, refunded, or refinanced before the effective date of this Act by an open-enrollment charter school designated as a charter district is governed by the law in effect immediately before that date, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.

SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.