(G) Debt that is refinanced in a manner that disqualifies
it for eligibility for funding within the IFA program shall be treated
as new bonded debt at the time of issuance for the purpose of EDA
funding consideration.
(11) In addition to I&S fund taxes collected in
the current school year, other district funds budgeted for the payment
of bonds may be eligible for the IFA program for the purpose of meeting
local share requirements pursuant to TEC, Chapter 46.
(A) District revenues that qualify for meeting a district's
local share requirement for the IFA are specified in the TEC, §46.003(b)-(d).
The commissioner will provide each district with information on which
tax collections were not equalized by state assistance in the preceding
school year and worksheets to enable districts to calculate tax collections
that will not receive state assistance in a current school year. The
commissioner will determine the amount of excess collections, if any,
to be applied to the IFA local share requirement.
(B) I&S fund taxes collected during a school year
will be attributed first to satisfy the local share requirement of
debts eligible for EDA state aid for that school year and, secondly,
to satisfy the local share requirements of any IFA debts for that
school year.
(12) If a district issues debt that requires the deposit
of payments into a mandatory I&S fund or debt service reserve
fund, the deposits will be considered debt payments for the purpose
of the IFA if the district's bond covenant calls for the deposit of
payments into a mandatory and irrevocable fund for the sole purpose
of defeasing the bonds or if the final statement stipulates the requirements
of the I&S fund and the bond covenant.
(e) Biennial limitation on access to allotment. The
guaranteed amount of state and local funds that a district may be
awarded under TEC, §46.003, is prescribed by TEC, §46.005.
A district may submit multiple applications for approval during the
same biennium. Timely application before executing the bond order
for bonds or authorizing the order for a lease-purchase agreement
must be made to ensure eligibility of the debt for program participation.
(f) Additional applications. For previously awarded
debt, increases in a district's debt allotment to pay for increases
in debt service payment requirements in subsequent biennia must receive
approval through one or more additional application(s). The portion
of any increase in eligible, qualified debt service that may be funded
in subsequent biennia is the amount that exceeds any previously awarded
and approved allotments, within the biennial limitation on funding
as calculated at the time of approval of the additional applications.
If additional IFA state aid is approved, the allotment limit will
be amended to reflect the increased IFA support for the applicable
debt issuance.
(g) Finality of award. Awards of assistance under TEC,
Chapter 46, will be made based on the information available to TEA
at the deadline for receipt of applications for that application cycle.
Changes in the terms of the issuance of debt, either in the length
of the payment schedule or the applicable interest rate, that occur
after the time of the award of assistance will not result in an increase
in the debt service considered for award.
(1) Any reduction in debt service requirements resulting
from changes in the terms of issuance of debt shall result in a reduction
in the amount of the award of assistance. Such a reduction in debt
service requirements may result in an adjustment to the allotment
awarded for the last application on the prioritization list to receive
funding during an application cycle, if that application was not fully
funded because of a lack of sufficient appropriations. In no case
will changes to debt service amounts result in the awarding of additional
IFA allotments for other eligible applications that were not funded
during that application cycle because of a lack of sufficient appropriations.
(2) Refinancing of the bonds or lease-purchase agreements
that receive IFA state aid may result in amendments to the allotment
for the original IFA-supported debt issuance and may result in the
designation of allotment amounts to be associated with the new debt
issuances that include refundings of the original IFA-supported debt
issuance.
(h) Data sources.
(1) For purposes of determining the limitation on assistance
and prioritization, the projected ADA as adopted by the legislature
for appropriations purposes shall be used.
(2) For purposes of prioritization, estimates of property
values under TEC, §48.269, shall be used.
(3) For purposes of both the calculation of the limitation
on assistance and prioritization, the commissioner may consider, before
the deadline for receipt of applications for that application cycle,
adjustments to data values determined to be erroneous.
(4) For purposes of prioritization, enrollment increases
over the previous five years shall be determined using Texas Student
Data System Public Education Information Management System (TSDS PEIMS)
submission data available at the time of application.
(5) For purposes of prioritization, outstanding debt
is defined as voter-approved bonded debt or lease-purchase debt outstanding
at the time of the application deadline.
(6) All final calculations of assistance earned shall
be based on property values as certified by the comptroller for the
current school year under TEC, §48.256, and the final ADA for
the current school year. A district must request any adjustment to
state assistance based on changes in the final ADA, property values,
or debt service or based on any other reason no later than three years
following August 31 of the state fiscal year for which the adjustment
is sought.
(7) For the TEA to determine eligible debt service
applicable to eligible bonded debt or the underlying bonds of an eligible
lease-purchase agreement, the debt service schedule a district submits
on the application must reflect the debt service schedule the district
reported in the FOS or, if no FOS is prepared, in the final bond order
or other official document describing the relevant financing activity,
including a final debt service schedule. Failure to submit the required
amended application packet to the TEA following any refinancing transaction
as required by subsection (d)(7) of this section will result in the
disqualification of debt service as prescribed in subsection (d)(8)
of this section. IFA state aid for debt service payments that are
later determined to be disqualified may be recovered through the reduction
of future IFA state aid payments for the affected debt issuance.
(i) Allocation of debt service between qualified and
nonqualified projects. Debt service shall be allocated between qualified
and nonqualified purposes and between eligible and ineligible categories
of debt. The method used for allocation between qualified and nonqualified
purposes shall be on the basis of pro rata value of the instructional
facility versus the noninstructional purposes over the life of the
debt service. The method of allocation of debt service between eligible
and ineligible categories shall be on the basis of the pro rata value
of the refinanced portion of the bond issue versus the new money portion
of the bond issue. The method used for the allocation of debt service
between qualified and nonqualified projects and between eligible and
ineligible debt will be applied to the debt service schedule for the
original bond issuance and for the revised debt service schedule that
results from the refinancing of IFA-eligible bonds. This allocation
method will also be applied to determine the eligible and qualified
portions of the debt service on the bonds that are issued to refinance
IFA-supported debt. Total IFA-eligible debt service for refinanced
bonds is determined by the following method.
(1) The amount of remaining debt service on the original
IFA-funded debt service must be reflected in the revised debt service
schedule reported in the FOS, or (if no FOS is prepared) in a schedule
submitted to the TEA, for that bond issue. The amount of IFA-related
debt service for this bond series will be determined using the same
pro rata allocation that was used to allocate the debt service for
the original IFA allotment award as described in this subsection.
(2) The portion of the IFA-eligible debt service on
the bond issue that refunds the IFA-supported debt is determined by:
(A) multiplying the debt service on the refunding bonds
by the ratio that results from dividing the principal of refunding
bonds by the total issue amount to determine the amount of IFA-related
debt service associated with the refunding bonds; and
(B) then allocating the IFA-related debt service associated
with the refunding bonds using the same pro rata allocation that was
used to allocate the debt service for the original IFA allotment award
as described in this subsection.
Cont'd... |