Current through Reg. 50, No. 13; March 28, 2025
(a) The Texas Education Code, §
130.087, requires the
Board to determine that:
(1) the branch
campus maintenance tax rate does not exceed five cents on each $100 valuation
of all taxable property;
(2) a
certified petition has been submitted by the appropriate authorities to the
Board; and
(3) the proposed tax is
feasible and desirable.
(b) The Board shall apply the following
criteria when considering the appropriateness for the levying of a branch
campus maintenance tax:
(1) Demographic and
economic characteristics of the jurisdiction seeking to establish the
maintenance tax, such things as:
(A)
population trends by age group;
(B)
economic development trends and projection; and
(C) employment trends and projection (i.e.,
supply-demand data).
(2)
Potential student clientele, including:
(A)
educational levels by age group; and
(B) college-bound data (i.e., trends by age
group).
(3) The
financial status of the proposed jurisdiction to be taxed and the state as a
whole, including:
(A) any projected growth or
decline in the tax base; and
(B)
trends in state appropriations for community/junior colleges and other
institutions of higher education.
(4) Projected programs and services for the
proposed jurisdiction based on economic and population trends.
(5) Proximity and impediments to programs and
services to existing institutions of higher education such as:
(A) identification of institutions that could
be effected by a new branch campus; and
(B) documentation of existing programs and
services:
(i) on the campuses of nearby
institutions of higher education;
(ii) available to citizens within a 50 mile
radius of the proposed jurisdiction; and
(iii) offered in the proposed jurisdiction by
existing institutions of higher education;
(C) financial limitations on existing
institutions of higher education inhibiting the offering of programs and
services in the proposed jurisdiction;
(D) availability of facilities, libraries,
and equipment for institutions to offer classes in the proposed
jurisdiction;
(E) distance and
traffic patterns to existing institutions of higher education;
(F) effect on enrollments of existing
institutions of higher education; and
(G) effect on financing of existing
institutions of higher education.
(c) The Board's Committee on Community and
Technical Colleges may conduct one or more public hearings in the proposed
jurisdiction to:
(1) assess public sentiment
regarding the levying of a branch campus maintenance tax;
(2) determine whether programs in the
proposed jurisdiction would create unnecessary duplication or seriously harm
programs in existing community/junior college districts or other institutions
of higher education in the area; and
(3) assess the potential impact of the
proposed jurisdiction on existing community/junior colleges or other
institutions of higher education in the area and on the State of
Texas.
(d) After the
self-study has been reviewed and, if applicable, a site visit conducted by the
Committee on Community and Technical Colleges and Board staff, a report from
the Board staff shall be submitted to the Commissioner indicating whether the
criteria as set out in subsection (b) of this section have been met. The report
shall include a recommendation for approval or denial of the request for
approval to hold an election to levy a branch campus maintenance tax, but shall
not be binding on the Commissioner or the Board.
