By: Toth H.B. No. 2530
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to state savings achieved through a budget savings program
  administered by the comptroller of public accounts making an
  appropriation of a portion of those savings.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Chapter 403, Government Code, is amended by
  adding Subchapter N to read as follows:
  SUBCHAPTER N. BUDGET SAVINGS PROGRAM
         Sec. 403.351.  PURPOSE. The purpose of this subchapter is to
  provide financial savings to the state budget and increase
  efficiency.
         Sec. 403.352.  DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
               (1)  "Budget Savings Account" is established in the
  foundation school fund and is administered by the comptroller.
               (2)  "Collector" means the officer or employee
  responsible for collecting ad valorem taxes for a school district.
               (3)  "Program" means the budget savings program
  established under this subchapter.
               (4)  "Qualifying school" means:
                     (A)  a school district that serves and charges a
  tuition fee for a student transferring to the district from another
  school district under Section 25.038, Education Code; or
                     (B)  a school that is accredited by an
  organization recognized by the Texas Private School Accreditation
  Commission.
               (5)  "Qualifying taxpayer" means a person who:
                     (A)  pays school district maintenance and
  operations ad valorem taxes in an amount that is at least the lesser
  of the two amounts described by Section 403.353(e); and
                     (B)  makes a designation to cover tuition for the
  enrollment of at least one eligible student in a qualifying school
  in accordance with rules adopted by the comptroller.
               (6)  "Tuition" includes any fee required to be paid for
  an eligible student to attend a qualified school.
               (8)  "Gross savings" means the total savings to the
  state prior to any reimbursements made pursuant to Sec. 353.353
  (e).
               (9)  "Net savings" means the total savings to the state
  after any reimbursements made pursuant to Sec. 353.353 (e).
         Sec. 403.353.  BUDGET SAVINGS PROGRAM. (a) The comptroller
  shall establish a budget savings program through which a qualifying
  taxpayer may designate an amount equal to all or a portion of the
  school district maintenance and operations ad valorem taxes paid by
  the taxpayer to be used as a grant from the state to pay the tuition
  for the enrollment of an eligible student at a qualifying school
  through the use of a budget savings form.
         (b)  For each year in which a qualifying taxpayer elects to
  participate in the program, the taxpayer shall submit to the
  collector, in addition to the taxpayer's school district ad valorem
  taxes, a budget savings form for students for whom the taxpayer
  designates tuition for enrollment at a qualifying school. The form
  must be submitted not later than the date the school district taxes
  are due, and the taxes must be paid in full by the due date.
         (c)  The comptroller by rule shall prescribe the format of
  the budget savings form and shall include in the form any
  information the comptroller determines necessary to administer the
  program.
         (d)  The collector shall report on program participation to
  the comptroller in a manner and format as determined by
  comptroller.
         (e)  A designated student is entitled to receive a grant for
  the payment of tuition for enrollment at a qualifying school for an
  amount equal to the lesser of:
               (1)  the total amount of tuition the taxpayer
  designated for the enrollment of one or more eligible students in a
  qualifying school; or
               (2)  the product of:
                     (A)  80 percent of the state average maintenance
  and operations expenditures per student in average daily
  attendance; and
                     (B)  the number of eligible students for whom the
  taxpayer designated tuition for enrollment in a qualifying school.
         (f)  A student is eligible to participate in the program if
  the student is a school-age child who resides in this state.
         (f-1)  Notwithstanding Subsection (f), for a school year
  before the 2036-2037 school year, a student is eligible to
  participate in the program only if the student is a school-age child
  who resides in this state and:
               (1)  is entering kindergarten or first grade;
               (2)  attended a public school for all of the school year
  immediately preceding initial participation in the program;
               (3)  participated in the program in a preceding school
  year; or
               (4)  is a sibling of a student who participated in the
  program in a preceding school year.
         (f-2)  This subsection and subsection (f-1) expire September
  1, 2037.
         (g)  The comptroller may not use money from the available
  school fund or federal money to reimburse a qualifying school under
  this section.
         (h)  A qualifying school may not be required to comply with a
  state law, including a rule governing the school's educational
  program, as a prerequisite for receiving a reimbursement under this
  subchapter unless that law applies generally to schools in this
  state that are accredited by an organization recognized by the
  Texas Private School Accreditation Commission, or in effect prior
  to January 1, 2023.
         (i)  Notwithstanding any other provision of this subchapter,
  the comptroller may implement a program for taxpayers who live in an
  apartment or otherwise owe property taxes insufficient to cover the
  amount due under Section 403.352(5)(A). Such taxpayer participants
  shall only be entitled to participate if the comptroller determines
  that the reimbursement will result in a savings to the state budget.
         Sec. 403.354.  BUDGET SAVINGS ACCOUNT. (a) The budget
  savings account is established in the foundation school fund and is
  administered by the comptroller on behalf of Texas students who
  participate in the program.
         (b)  The account consists of:
               (1)  money transferred to the credit of the account by
  the comptroller under Section 48.304 Education Code; and
               (2)  other amounts appropriated to the account by the
  legislature.
         (c)  Money in the account may be used only to award grants for
  the payment of tuition for enrollment of eligible students at
  qualifying schools in the manner prescribed by Section 403.353 and
  rules adopted by the comptroller.
         (d)  Interest and income from the assets of the account shall
  be credited to and deposited in the account.
         (e)  Notwithstanding Subsection (c), the comptroller may
  deduct a percentage of each reimbursement made from the account to
  cover the comptroller's administrative costs in implementing and
  administering the program. The percentage deducted from each
  reimbursement may not exceed the lesser of:
               (1)  the pro rata cost of the program in the applicable
  year; or
               (2)  two percent of the amount of the reimbursement.
         (f)  This subsection and Subsection (e) expire September 1,
  2034.
         Sec. 403.355.  RULES. (a) The comptroller shall adopt rules
  for the implementation and administration of this subchapter,
  including rules relating to:
               (1)  the format and content of the budget savings form;
               (2)  a timeline for making payments for qualifying
  students under the program in a manner that maximizes savings to the
  state without imposing an unnecessary burden on program
  participants;
               (3)  the prevention of fraud and abuse in financial
  transactions under the program;
               (4)  the prevention of dual counting of eligible
  students; and
               (5)  the computation of the gross and net savings to the
  state from the program.
         SECTION 2.  Subchapter G, Chapter 48, Education Code, is
  amended by adding Section 48.304 to read as follows:
         Sec. 48.304.  BUDGET SAVINGS GRANT. (a) A person to whom
  the comptroller awards a grant under Subchapter N, Chapter 403,
  Government Code, is entitled to receive an amount equal to the
  amount of the grant as provided by that subchapter.
         (b)  The agency shall re-appropriate to the credit of the
  budget savings account established under Section 403.354,
  Government Code, the amount appropriated to the agency for purposes
  of this section for use by the comptroller in awarding grants as
  provided by Subchapter N, Chapter 403, Government Code.
         SECTION 3.  (a) The constitutionality and other validity
  under the state or federal constitution of all or any part of
  Chapter 403, Government Subchapter N, as added by this Act, may be
  determined in an action for declaratory judgment in a district
  court in Travis County under Chapter 37, Civil Practice and
  Remedies Code, except that this section does not authorize an award
  of attorney's fees against this state and Section 37.009, Civil
  Practice and Remedies Code, does not apply to an action filed under
  this section. This section does not authorize a taxpayer suit to
  contest the denial of a tax credit by the comptroller of public
  accounts.
         (b)  An appeal of a declaratory judgment or order, however
  characterized, of a district court, including an appeal of the
  judgment of an appellate court, holding or otherwise determining
  that all or any part of Chapter 403, Government Code, Subchapter N,
  as added by this Act, is constitutional or unconstitutional, or
  otherwise valid or invalid, under the state or federal constitution
  is an accelerated appeal.
         (c)  If the judgment or order is interlocutory, an
  interlocutory appeal may be taken from the judgment or order and is
  an accelerated appeal.
         (d)  A district court in Travis County may grant or deny a
  temporary or otherwise interlocutory injunction or a permanent
  injunction on the grounds of the constitutionality or
  unconstitutionality, or other validity or invalidity, under the
  state or federal constitution of all or any part of Chapter 403,
  Government Code, Subchapter N as added by this Act.
         (e)  There is a direct appeal to the Texas Supreme Court from
  an order, however characterized, of a trial court granting or
  denying a temporary or otherwise interlocutory injunction or a
  permanent injunction on the grounds of the constitutionality or
  unconstitutionality, or other validity or invalidity, under the
  state or federal constitution of all or any part of Chapter 403,
  Government Code, Subchapter N, as added by this Act.
         (f)  The direct appeal is an accelerated appeal.
         (g)  This section exercises the authority granted by Section
  3-b, Article V, Texas Constitution.
         (h)  The filing of a direct appeal under this section will
  automatically stay any temporary or otherwise interlocutory
  injunction or permanent injunction granted in accordance with this
  section pending final determination by the Texas Supreme Court,
  unless the supreme court makes specific findings that the applicant
  seeking such injunctive relief has pleaded and proved that:
               (1)  the applicant has a probable right to the relief it
  seeks on final hearing; and
               (2)  the applicant will suffer a probable injury that
  is imminent and irreparable, and that the applicant has no other
  adequate legal remedy.
         (i)  An appeal under this section, including an
  interlocutory, accelerated, or direct appeal, is governed, as
  applicable, by the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, including
  Rules 25.1(d)(6), 26.1(b), 28.1, 28.3, 32.1(g), 37.3(a)(1),
  38.6(a) and (b), 40.1(b), and 49.4.
         SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.