| (a) Statutory provision. The commissioner of education
must administer the intercept credit enhancement program for school
district bonds according to the provisions of the Texas Education
Code (TEC), Chapter 45, Subchapter I.
(b) Definitions. The following definitions apply to
the intercept credit enhancement program for school district bonds.
(1) Application deadline--The last business day of
the month in which an application for a credit enhancement is filed.
Applications must be received by the Texas Education Agency (TEA)
division responsible for state funding by 5:00 p.m. on the last business
day of the month to be considered in that month's application processing.
(2) Average daily attendance (ADA)--Total refined average
daily attendance as defined by the TEC, §48.005.
(3) Bond order--The order adopted by the governing
body of a school district that authorizes the issuance of bonds.
(4) Combination issue--An issuance of bonds for which
an application is filed for a credit enhancement that includes both
a new money portion and a refunding portion, as permitted by the Texas
Government Code, Chapter 1207. The eligibility of combination issues
for the credit enhancement is limited by the eligibility of the new
money and refunding portions as defined in this subsection.
(5) Enrollment growth--Growth in student enrollment,
as defined by §129.1025 of this title (relating to Adoption by
Reference: Student Attendance Accounting Handbook), that has occurred
over the previous five school years.
(6) Financial exigency--A determination by a school
district board of trustees that the financial condition of the district
requires a reduction in personnel, as authorized by the TEC, §21.211.
(7) Foundation School Program (FSP)--The program established
under the TEC, Chapters 46, 48, and 49, or any successor program of
state-appropriated funding for school districts in this state.
(8) New money issue--An issuance of bonds for the purposes
of constructing, renovating, acquiring, and equipping school buildings;
the purchase of property; or the purchase of school buses. Eligibility
for the credit enhancement for new money issues is limited to the
issuance of bonds authorized under the TEC, §45.003. A new money
issue does not include the issuance of bonds to purchase a facility
from a public facility corporation created by the school district
or to purchase any property that is currently under a lease-purchase
contract under the Local Government Code, Chapter 271, Subchapter
A. A new money issue does not include an issuance of bonds to refinance
any type of maintenance tax-supported debt. Maintenance tax-supported
debt includes, but is not limited to:
(A) time warrants or loans entered under the TEC, Chapter
45, Subchapter E; or
(B) any other type of loan or warrant that is not supported
by bond taxes as defined by the TEC, §45.003.
(9) Notes issued to provide interim financing--An issuance
of notes, including commercial paper notes, designed to provide short-term
financing for the purposes of constructing, renovating, acquiring,
and equipping school buildings; the purchase of property; or the purchase
of school buses. For notes to be eligible for the credit enhancement
under this section, the notes must be:
(A) issued to pay costs for which bonds have been authorized
at an election occurring before the issuance of the notes;
(B) approved by the Office of the Attorney General
or issued in accordance with proceedings that have been approved the
Office of the Attorney General; and
(C) refunded by bonds issued to provide long-term financing
no more than three years from the date of issuance of such notes,
provided that the date of issuance of notes will be determined by
reference to the date on which the notes were issued for capital expenditures
and the intervening date or dates of issuance of any notes issued
to refinance outstanding notes will be disregarded.
(10) Proposed annual debt service--Payments of principal
and interest on the outstanding bonded debt for which the enhancement
is sought scheduled to occur between September 1 and August 31 during
the fiscal year in which the credit enhancement is sought and each
fiscal year for which the credit enhancement is or would be in effect
as described in the amortization schedule for the bonded debt for
which the enhancement is sought.
(11) Refunding issue--An issuance of bonds for the
purpose of refunding bonds, including notes issued to provide interim
financing, that are supported by bond taxes as defined by the TEC, §45.003.
Eligibility for the credit enhancement for refunding issues is limited
to refunding issues that refund bonds, including notes issued to provide
interim financing, that were authorized by a bond election under the
TEC, §45.003.
(12) School District Bond Enhancement Program (SDBEP)--The
intercept program to provide credit enhancement for school district
bonds that is described by this section and established under the
TEC, Chapter 45, Subchapter I.
(13) Total debt service--Total outstanding principal
and interest on bonded debt.
(A) The total debt service will be determined by the
current report of the bonded indebtedness of the district as reported
by the MAC of Texas or its successor as of the date of the application
deadline, if the district has outstanding bonded indebtedness.
(B) The total debt service does not include:
(i) the amount of debt service to be paid on the bonds
for which the credit enhancement is sought; or
(ii) the amount of debt service attributable to any
debt that is no longer outstanding at the application deadline, provided
that the TEA has sufficient evidence of the discharge or defeasance
of such debt.
(C) The debt service amounts used in this calculation
for variable rate bonds will be those that are published in the final
official statement or final maturity schedule.
(c) Data sources.
(1) The following data sources will be used for purposes
of prioritization:
(A) projected ADA for the current school year as adopted
by the legislature for appropriations purposes;
(B) final property values certified by the comptroller
of public accounts, as described in the Texas Government Code, Chapter
403, Subchapter M, for the tax year preceding the year in which the
bonds will be issued. If final property values are unavailable, the
most recent projection of property values by the comptroller, as described
in the Texas Government Code, Chapter 403, Subchapter M, will be used;
(C) debt service information reported by the MAC of
Texas or its successor as of the date of the application deadline;
and
(D) enrollment information reported to the Texas Student
Data System Public Education Information Management System ( TSDS
PEIMS) for the five-year time period ending in the year before the
application date.
(2) The commissioner may consider adjustments to data
values determined to be erroneous or not reflective of current conditions
before the deadline for receipt of applications for that application
cycle.
(d) Application for the credit enhancement.
(1) Application process. Districts must apply to the
commissioner of education for the guarantee or the credit enhancement
of eligible bonds. The district must submit, in a form specified by
the commissioner, the information required under the TEC, §45.055(b),
and this section and any additional information the commissioner may
require. The application and all additional information required by
the commissioner must be received before the application will be processed.
The application will first be considered for guarantee of eligible
bonds under §33.65 of this title (relating to Bond Guarantee
Program). If Permanent School Fund (PSF) capacity has been exhausted,
the application will then be considered for credit enhancement of
eligible bonds. The application must be accompanied by a fee in the
amount specified as the application fee amount in §33.65 of this
title.
(A) The fee is due at the time the application for
the guarantee or the credit enhancement is submitted. An application
will not be processed until the fee has been received in accordance
with the process prescribed by the commissioner for remitting the
fee on the application form.
(B) The fee will not be refunded to a district that:
(i) is not approved for the guarantee or the credit
enhancement; or
(ii) does not sell its bonds before the expiration
of its approval for the guarantee or the credit enhancement.
(C) The fee may be transferred to a subsequent application
for the guarantee or the credit enhancement by the district if the
district withdraws its application and submits the subsequent application
before the expiration of its approval for the guarantee or the credit
enhancement.
(2) Approval.
Cont'd... |
