TX House Bill 19? Learn more...

Gov. Abbot signed the "School Choice" bill on Saturday, May 3rd.

Below we offer a recap of several items included in the current House Bill 19, legislation that could significantly impact public school operations.

• Prior to adopting the annual tax rate, District’s will be required to publish a new notice that lists information about the proposed tax rates, the amount of outstanding indebtedness, and other financial information relating to the district’s funding and debt.

• Elections for approving new bonds or raising property tax rates will only take place on the November uniform election date.

• For debt issued after September 1, 2025, school districts will not be allowed to issue debt if the debt service on that debt exceeds 20% of what they collected in property taxes (on average) over the previous three years.

• Ballot language will require itemized descriptions of proposed scopes of work, including amounts and percentages of overall referendum. Money used from bonds approved by voters will have to be spent exactly as described on the ballot.

• If voters have rejected a bond proposal within the last five years, the school district will be restricted from authorizing anticipation notes for the same purpose as the rejected bond proposal.

• Even with voter approval, any increase in the tax rate to cover bond repayments or to spend funds from bond sales must be authorized by a majority, specifically at least 5 out of 7 board members.

The 89th Texas Legislative Session's regular session ends June 2nd.