School districts may issue interest-bearing time warrants for specified building, equipment, and taxation-data purposes, but there are approval, maturity, amount, and use restrictions.
Sec. 45.103. INTEREST-BEARING TIME WARRANTS. (a) Any school district in need of funds to construct, repair, or renovate school buildings, purchase school buildings and school equipment, or equip school properties with necessary heating, water, sanitation, lunchroom, or electric facilities or in need of funds with which to employ a person who has special skill and experience to compile taxation data and that is financially unable out of available funds to construct, repair, renovate, or purchase school buildings, purchase school equipment, or equip school properties with necessary heating, water, sanitation, lunchroom, or electric facilities or is unable to pay the person for compiling taxation data, may, subject to this section, issue interest-bearing time warrants, in amounts sufficient to construct, purchase, equip, or improve school buildings and facilities or to pay all or part of the compensation of the person to compile taxation data, any law to the contrary notwithstanding. The warrants shall mature in serial installments of not more than 15 years from their date of issue. The warrants on maturity may be payable out of any available funds of the school district in the order of their maturity dates. Any interest-bearing time warrants may be issued and sold by the district for not less than their face value, and the proceeds used to provide funds required for the purpose for which they are issued. The warrants shall be entitled to first payment out of any available funds of the district as they become due. Included in the purposes for which interest-bearing time warrants may be issued is the payment of any amounts owed by the school district that was incurred in carrying out any of those purposes. (a-1) A school district may also issue interest-bearing time warrants to refund warrants previously issued under this section if the refunding warrants are coterminous with the refunded obligations. (b) Interest-bearing time warrants may not be issued or sold by a common school district or rural high school district until they are approved by the county board of school trustees. The board shall, on application of the school district, inquire into the financial conditions and needs of the district, and may not approve the issuance of interest-bearing time warrants unless in its opinion the district: (1) is in need of constructing, purchasing, repairing, or renovating a school building, obtaining the school equipment, or equipping school properties with necessary heating, water, sanitation, lunchroom, or electric facilities; and (2) will be able with the resources in prospect to liquidate the warrants at their maturity. (c) A school district may not issue interest-bearing time warrants in excess of five percent of the assessed valuation of the district for the year in which the warrants are issued. The payment of interest-bearing time warrants in any one year may not exceed the anticipated surplus income of the district for the year in which the warrants are issued, based on the budget of the district for that year. The anticipated income computed under this section is exclusive of all bond taxes. A school district may not have outstanding at any one time warrants totaling in excess of $1 million under this section. (d) If interest-bearing time warrants issued under this section are outstanding, the officer in charge of the collection of delinquent taxes shall pay those collections to the legal depository of the district, to be deposited and held in a special fund for the payment of the interest-bearing time warrants, and except as otherwise provided by this section, collections of delinquent taxes may not be applied or used for any other purpose. (e) Interest and penalties on delinquent taxes are considered a part of those taxes for purposes of this section. If any delinquent taxes, including interest and penalties, are canceled, waived, released, or reduced either by the school district or in any other way, with or without its consent, the amount of the loss sustained shall be paid by the district to the special fund provided for by Subsection (d) out of funds not otherwise pledged to that special fund. (f) All school districts issuing interest-bearing time warrants may encumber and mortgage any property purchased with the proceeds of the warrants or any property, including teachers' residences, owned by the district to secure the payment of legally incurred obligations, except that a lien may not be placed on any school building in which actual classroom instruction of students is conducted. (g) In this section, "interest-bearing time warrant" includes a promissory note or other evidence of indebtedness issued under this section. (h) Taxes levied to pay principal and interest of bonds that are delinquent are not included in the term "delinquent taxes" as used in this section. Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 260, Sec. 1, eff. May 30, 1995. Amended by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1536, Sec. 3, eff. June 19, 1999. Amended by: Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1018 (H.B. 2610), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2013.