HBA-JEK S.B. 116 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisS.B. 116
By: Wentworth
Public Education
3/12/2001
Engrossed



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

A number of school districts own historic one-room schoolhouses that are no
longer used for educational purposes.  Some of these schoolhouses serve as
community centers for rural Texas and are maintained by community
organizations.  Many of the schoolhouse properties need repair if they are
to be preserved. Senate Bill 116 authorizes school districts to take action
to preserve these historic schoolhouses by transferring the properties to
an appropriate entity. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

ANALYSIS

Senate Bill 116 amends the Education Code to authorize the board of
trustees (board) of an independent school district, by resolution, to
donate real property and improvements formerly used as a school campus to a
municipality, county, or nonprofit organization if the board holds a public
hearing concerning the donation and determines that: 

_the improvements are historically significant;

_the transfer will further preserve the improvements; and

_the district does not need the real property or improvements for
educational purposes at the time of the transfer. 

The bill also authorizes the board to donate the real property and
improvements if they were donated to the district, are used as a community
center at the time of the transfer, and the entity to whom the transfer is
made has shown to the board's satisfaction that the entity intends to
continue to use the donation as a community center for public purposes. 

S.B. 116 requires the board's president to execute a deed transferring
ownership of the real property and improvements to the appropriate entity.
The bill provides that the deed must recite the board's resolution
authorizing the donation and provide that the ownership of the property and
improvements revert to the district if the municipality, county, or
nonprofit organization executes a document that purports to convey the
property or discontinues the use of the property and its improvements as a
community center for public purposes. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

January 1, 2002, only if a constitutional amendment proposed by the 77th
Legislature, Regular Session, authorizing donation of surplus school
district property of historical significance is approved by the voters.