Bill Text: TX HJR136 | 2015-2016 | 84th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Proposing a constitutional amendment to establish a permanent endowment to support the construction, acquisition, improvement, and equipping of buildings, facilities, and other improvements at public junior and community colleges.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-03-23 - Referred to Higher Education [HJR136 Detail]
Download: Texas-2015-HJR136-Introduced.html
84R15366 KEL-D | ||
By: Muñoz, Jr. | H.J.R. No. 136 |
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proposing a constitutional amendment to establish a permanent | ||
endowment to support the construction, acquisition, improvement, | ||
and equipping of buildings, facilities, and other improvements at | ||
public junior and community colleges. | ||
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Article VII, Texas Constitution, is amended by | ||
adding Section 21 to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 21. (a) There is established the permanent public | ||
community college fund for the purpose of providing a dedicated, | ||
independent, and equitable source of funding to support the | ||
construction, acquisition, improvement, and equipping of | ||
buildings, facilities, and other improvements at public junior and | ||
community colleges. | ||
(b) The fund consists of money transferred or deposited to | ||
the credit of the fund and any interest or other return on the | ||
investment assets of the fund. The legislature may dedicate state | ||
revenue to the credit of the fund. | ||
(c) The legislature shall provide for administration of the | ||
fund, which shall be invested in the manner and according to the | ||
standards provided for investment of the permanent university fund. | ||
The expenses of managing the investments of the fund shall be paid | ||
from the fund. | ||
(d) In each state fiscal biennium, the legislature may | ||
appropriate as provided by Subsection (f) of this section all or a | ||
portion of the total return on all investment assets of the fund to | ||
carry out the purposes for which the fund is established. | ||
(e) The legislature shall allocate the amounts appropriated | ||
under this section, or shall provide for an allocation of those | ||
amounts, to eligible junior college districts to carry out the | ||
purposes of the fund. The money shall be allocated based on an | ||
equitable formula established by the legislature or by an agency | ||
designated by the legislature. | ||
(f) The portion of the total return on investment assets of | ||
the fund that is available for appropriation in a state fiscal | ||
biennium under this section is the portion determined by the | ||
legislature, or an agency designated by the legislature, as | ||
necessary to provide as nearly as practicable a stable and | ||
predictable stream of annual distributions to eligible junior | ||
college districts and to maintain over time the purchasing power of | ||
fund investment assets. The amount appropriated from the fund in | ||
any fiscal year may not exceed an amount equal to seven percent of | ||
the average net fair market value of the investment assets of the | ||
fund, as determined by law. | ||
(g) The legislature shall establish criteria by which a | ||
junior college district may become eligible to receive a portion of | ||
the distributions from the fund. A junior college district that | ||
becomes eligible to receive a portion of the distributions from the | ||
fund in a state fiscal biennium remains eligible to receive | ||
additional distributions from the fund in any subsequent state | ||
fiscal biennium. | ||
(h) A junior college district may use distributions from the | ||
fund only for the construction, acquisition, improvement, and | ||
equipping of buildings, facilities, and other improvements at | ||
public junior college and community college campuses operated by | ||
the districts, including to pay the principal and interest on bonds | ||
or other obligations issued for that purpose. | ||
SECTION 2. Section 49-g, Article III, Texas Constitution, | ||
is amended by adding Subsection (p) to read as follows: | ||
(p) Notwithstanding the other provisions of this section, | ||
on the first day of each state fiscal year, the comptroller shall | ||
transfer from the economic stabilization fund to the permanent | ||
public community college fund established under Section 21, Article | ||
VII, of this constitution an amount equal to 10 percent of the total | ||
amount of funds deposited into the economic stabilization fund in | ||
the preceding state fiscal year. | ||
SECTION 3. Section 18, Article VII, Texas Constitution, is | ||
amended by adding Subsection (k) to read as follows: | ||
(k) Notwithstanding the other provisions of this section, | ||
in each state fiscal year, before any other amounts are distributed | ||
under those provisions from the available university fund, the | ||
Board of Regents of The University of Texas System shall transfer | ||
from the available university fund to the permanent public | ||
community college fund established under Section 21 of this article | ||
an amount equal to one percent of the amount distributed from the | ||
permanent university fund to the available university fund in that | ||
fiscal year. This subsection expires when the comptroller of | ||
public accounts certifies to the governor and the Board of Regents | ||
of The University of Texas System that the balance of the permanent | ||
public community college fund is sufficient to provide annual | ||
distributions to adequately fund the construction, acquisition, | ||
improvement, and equipping of buildings, facilities, and other | ||
improvements at public junior and community colleges. | ||
SECTION 4. This proposed constitutional amendment shall be | ||
submitted to the voters at an election to be held November 3, 2015. | ||
The ballot shall be printed to permit voting for or against the | ||
proposition: "The constitutional amendment to establish a | ||
permanent endowment to support the construction, acquisition, | ||
improvement, and equipping of buildings, facilities, and other | ||
improvements at public junior and community colleges." |