Art. 2702-A. COUNTY-WIDE EQUALIZATION DISTRICTS IN COUNTIES OF 24,000 TO 25,000 HAVING VALUATION OF $27,500,000.
Section 1. TAXING POWER. All counties in this state having a population of not more than twenty-five thousand (25,000), nor less than twenty-four thousand (24,000), according to the last preceding Federal Census, and containing a valuation of Twenty-seven Million Five Hundred Thousand ($27,500,000.00) Dollars or more, are hereby created into county-wide equalization school districts, and each such county shall have the county unit system of education to the extent specified in this Act and may exercise the taxing power conferred on school districts by Article 7, Section 3 of the Constitution to the extent hereinafter provided; but such taxing power shall not be exercised until and unless authorized by a majority of the qualified property tax-paying voters residing therein at an election to be held for that purpose as hereinafter provided.
Sec. 2. MANAGEMENT; RATE OF EQUALIZATION TAX. The general management, supervision, and control of the public schools and of the educational interests of such counties shall be vested in the County Board of School Trustees, except as otherwise provided by law, and said Board shall perform such duties as are or may be required of it by existing law and by the provisions of this Act and shall constitute the Board of Trustees for such county-wide equalization district. Any such county-wide school equalization district may levy and collect annually on all taxable property in the county an equalization tax not to exceed Twenty-five (25) Cents on the One Hundred ($100.00) Dollars valuation of property situated in said county, and the money derived from said tax shall be known as an equalization fund for the support of the public schools of the county, which funds shall be distributed to the school districts of the county as provided herein.
Sec. 3. ELECTION. On the petition of as many as one hundred (100) legally qualified taxpaying voters of any county, subject to the provisions of this Act, praying for the authority to levy and collect said tax, the County Judge shall immediately order an election to be held throughout the county, said election to be held not more than thirty (30) days, nor less than twenty (20), from the date of such order. The County Judge shall give notice of such election by causing to be published a copy of the order of the election in some newspaper, published in the county once each week for three (3) consecutive weeks prior to the date of such election, the date of the first publication to be not less than twenty (20) days prior to the date fixed by the election. Only legally qualified property taxpaying voters who own property in the county and who have duly rendered the same for taxation shall be allowed to vote in said election. The form of ballot shall be substantially as follows:
"For the county-wide equalization tax."
"Against the county-wide equalization tax."
The manner of holding said election shall be governed by the General Laws of the State of Texas regulating elections and shall be held at the regular polling places within the county with duly appointed election officers holding said election. The officers holding the election shall make returns thereof to the County Judge within ten (10) days after the same was held.
The Commissioners Court shall at its next regular meeting canvass the returns of said election, and if a majority of the votes cast shall favor such tax, the Court shall declare the result and certify the same to the County Board of School Trustees and to the County Tax Assessor and Collector, and said Board of County School Trustees shall thereupon be authorized to levy said tax and the County Tax Assessor and Collector shall be authorized to assess and collect same. No election to revoke said tax shall be ordered until the expiration of five years (5) from the date of the election at which said tax was adopted.
Sec. 4. ASSESSMENT AND COLLECTION; REPORTS. In counties voting such equalization tax the County Tax Assessor shall assess all the taxable property in the county at the same rate of valuation as it is assessed for state and county purposes, and the County Tax Collector shall collect said tax at the same time and in the same manner as state and county taxes are collected. The Tax Collector shall have the same authority and the same laws shall apply in the collection of said tax as in the collection of county ad valorem taxes. He shall, on or before the 10th of each month, make a report to the County Board of School Trustees and to the County Superintendent of Schools showing all moneys collected by him during the last month by said tax. The officers assessing and collecting said equalization tax shall receive therefor the same compensation as is paid for assessing and collecting school taxes in common school districts.
Sec. 5. TREASURER; DEPOSITS. The County Superintendent shall be the Treasurer of the county-wide equalization district and shall keep an accurate record of all moneys received and paid out by such county-wide equalization district. The county depository shall be the depository for the county-wide equalization district and such depository shall enter into a bond of a like condition and amount as is prescribed by law for depositories of county funds. The Tax Collector shall on or before the 10th of each month deposit all moneys collected by him during the preceding month by said school equalization tax in the depository to the credit of the county-wide school equalization fund.
Sec. 6. DISTRIBUTION OF MONEY COLLECTED. The County Board of School Trustees shall distribute the money collected from any taxes levied by said ditrict to the common and independent school districts of the county on the same basis that the state per capita apportionment is distributed among said common and independent school districts. The County Board of School Trustees shall issue warrants to be signed by the President of said Board, attested by the Secretary thereof, against such equalization fund to the School District Trustees on a per capita basis as is provided herein; provided, however, that the County Board shall from time to time, as the money is collected, issue warrants to the various school districts in proportion to the amount that each is entitled to receive on such per capita basis as provided herein.
Sec. 7. POWERS AND DUTIES OF TRUSTEES. This Act shall not have the effect of changing any duties imposed on or powers conferred on the Trustees of any common or independent school district situated in the counties covered by this Act unless and except as expressly provided herein; it being the intention of this law that respective Boards of Trustees shall continue to administer their lawful duties and powers as now authorized by law, but the equalization tax authorized shall be levied by the County Board of School Trustees, and assessed and collected by the County Tax Assessor and Collector, and distributed to the respective districts by the County Board of School Trustees.
Sec. 8. PARTIAL INVALIDITY; REPEAL. In the event any clause, sentence, paragraph, section, or part of this Act shall be held unconstitutional or void, then and in that event it is hereby declared to be the legislative intent that all other clauses, sentences, paragraphs, sections, and parts of this Act shall have full effect according to their purport and intent. All laws or parts of laws, both General and Special, in conflict with this Act, are hereby repealed insofar and only insofar as they conflict with the provisions of this Act in its local application.
Acts 1947, 50th Leg., p. 617, ch. 331.
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