Bill Text: TX HJR34 | 2017-2018 | 85th Legislature | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Proposing a constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to exempt from ad valorem taxation real property leased to certain schools organized and operated primarily for the purpose of engaging in educational functions.
Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Republican 10-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-04-25 - Committee report sent to Calendars [HJR34 Detail]
Download: Texas-2017-HJR34-Comm_Sub.html
85R3239 CJC-D | ||
By: Murphy, Frank, Parker, Dutton, et al. | H.J.R. No. 34 |
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proposing a constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature | ||
to exempt from ad valorem taxation real property leased to certain | ||
schools organized and operated primarily for the purpose of | ||
engaging in educational functions. | ||
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Section 2(a), Article VIII, Texas Constitution, | ||
is amended to read as follows: | ||
(a) All occupation taxes shall be equal and uniform upon the | ||
same class of subjects within the limits of the authority levying | ||
the tax; but the legislature may, by general laws, exempt from | ||
taxation public property used for public purposes; actual places of | ||
religious worship, also any property owned by a church or by a | ||
strictly religious society for the exclusive use as a dwelling | ||
place for the ministry of such church or religious society, and | ||
which yields no revenue whatever to such church or religious | ||
society; provided that such exemption shall not extend to more | ||
property than is reasonably necessary for a dwelling place and in no | ||
event more than one acre of land; any property owned by a church or | ||
by a strictly religious society that owns an actual place of | ||
religious worship if the property is owned for the purpose of | ||
expansion of the place of religious worship or construction of a new | ||
place of religious worship and the property yields no revenue | ||
whatever to the church or religious society, provided that the | ||
legislature by general law may provide eligibility limitations for | ||
the exemption and may impose sanctions related to the exemption in | ||
furtherance of the taxation policy of this subsection; any property | ||
that is owned by a church or by a strictly religious society and is | ||
leased by that church or strictly religious society to a person for | ||
use as a school, as defined by Section 11.21, Tax Code, or a | ||
successor statute, for educational purposes; any real property that | ||
is leased to a person for use as a school that operates under a | ||
charter granted by the State Board of Education, the commissioner | ||
of education, or any other state agency or officer and that is | ||
qualified as provided by Section 11.21, Tax Code, or a successor | ||
statute; places of burial not held for private or corporate profit; | ||
solar or wind-powered energy devices; all buildings used | ||
exclusively and owned by persons or associations of persons for | ||
school purposes and the necessary furniture of all schools and | ||
property used exclusively and reasonably necessary in conducting | ||
any association engaged in promoting the religious, educational and | ||
physical development of boys, girls, young men or young women | ||
operating under a State or National organization of like character; | ||
also the endowment funds of such institutions of learning and | ||
religion not used with a view to profit; and when the same are | ||
invested in bonds or mortgages, or in land or other property which | ||
has been and shall hereafter be bought in by such institutions under | ||
foreclosure sales made to satisfy or protect such bonds or | ||
mortgages, that such exemption of such land and property shall | ||
continue only for two years after the purchase of the same at such | ||
sale by such institutions and no longer, and institutions engaged | ||
primarily in public charitable functions, which may conduct | ||
auxiliary activities to support those charitable functions; and all | ||
laws exempting property from taxation other than the property | ||
mentioned in this Section shall be null and void. | ||
SECTION 2. The following temporary provision is added to | ||
the Texas Constitution: | ||
TEMPORARY PROVISION. (a) This temporary provision applies | ||
to the constitutional amendment proposed by the 85th Legislature, | ||
Regular Session, 2017, authorizing the legislature to exempt from | ||
ad valorem taxation real property leased to certain schools | ||
organized and operated primarily for the purpose of engaging in | ||
educational functions. | ||
(b) The amendment to Section 2(a), Article VIII, of this | ||
constitution takes effect beginning with the tax year that begins | ||
January 1, 2018. | ||
(c) This temporary provision expires January 1, 2019. | ||
SECTION 3. This proposed constitutional amendment shall be | ||
submitted to the voters at an election to be held November 7, 2017. | ||
The ballot shall be printed to permit voting for or against the | ||
proposition: "The constitutional amendment authorizing the | ||
legislature to exempt from ad valorem taxation real property leased | ||
to certain schools organized and operated primarily for the purpose | ||
of engaging in educational functions." |