1| STATE OF OKLAHOMA | | | 2| 1st Session of the 59th Legislature (2023) | | | 3|SENATE BILL 749 By: Woods | | | 4| | | | 5| | | | 6| AS INTRODUCED | | | 7| An Act relating to school district bond elections and | | technology center school district bond elections; | 8| amending 70 O.S. 2021, Sections 14-108 and 15-103, | | which relate to the School Code of 1971; making | 9| certain real property owners qualified electors for | | certain elections; updating statutory language; and | 10| providing an effective date. | | | 11| | | | 12| | | | 13|BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA: | | | 14| SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 14-108, is | | | 15|amended to read as follows: | | | 16| Section 14-108. A. The State Board of Career and Technology | | | 17|Education shall prescribe criteria and procedures for the | | | 18|establishment and governance of technology center school districts, | | | 19|as provided by Section 9B, Article X, Oklahoma Constitution, and | | | 20|such districts so established shall be operated in accordance with | | | 21|rules of the State Board of Career and Technology Education, except | | | 22|as otherwise provided in this title. | | | 23| B. A technology center school district shall be a body | | | 24|corporate and shall possess the usual powers of a corporation for | | | Req. No. 550 Page 1 ___________________________________________________________________________
1|public purposes. Its official name shall be designated by the State | | | 2|Board of Career and Technology Education, in which name it may sue | | | 3|and be sued, and be capable of contracting and being contracted | | | 4|with, and holding real and personal estate. | | | 5| C. The governing board of a technology center school district | | | 6|shall be a board of education consisting of not less than five (5) | | | 7|nor more than seven (7) members. Except as otherwise provided for | | | 8|in subsection D of this section, all members of the board of | | | 9|education shall be elected in a manner prescribed by the State Board | | | 10|of Career and Technology Education. The State Board shall | | | 11|promulgate rules prescribing the manner in which the elections | | | 12|required by this subsection are held. | | | 13| D. In a technology center school district that serves seventy | | | 14|or more public school districts, the territory of the school | | | 15|district shall be divided into district zones by the State Board of | | | 16|Career and Technology Education. Between August 1 and December 31 | | | 17|of the year following the submission by the United States Department | | | 18|of Commerce to the President of the United States of the official | | | 19|Federal Decennial Census, the Board shall reapportion the territory | | | 20|of the technology center school district into district zones. All | | | 21|boundaries of district zones shall follow clearly visible, | | | 22|definable, and observable physical boundaries which are based upon | | | 23|criteria established and recognized by the Bureau of the Census of | | | 24|the United States Department of Commerce for purposes of defining | | | Req. No. 550 Page 2 ___________________________________________________________________________
1|census blocks for its decennial census and shall follow, as much as | | | 2|possible, precinct boundaries. District zones shall be compact, | | | 3|contiguous and shall be as equal in population as practical with not | | | 4|more than a five-percent variance between the most populous and | | | 5|least populous district zones. The board of education of a | | | 6|technology center school district shall consist of one member | | | 7|elected from each of the district zones of the school district | | | 8|created pursuant to this subsection. The electors of each district | | | 9|zone shall elect a person, who is a resident of the district zone, | | | 10|to represent the district zone on the school board. If during the | | | 11|term of office to which a person was elected, that member ceases to | | | 12|be a resident of the district zone for which the person was elected, | | | 13|the office shall become vacant and the vacancy shall be filled as | | | 14|provided in Section 13A-110 of Title 26 of the Oklahoma Statutes. | | | 15|The State Board of Career and Technology Education shall promulgate | | | 16|rules prescribing the manner in which the elections required by this | | | 17|subsection are held. | | | 18| E. The board of education of a technology center school | | | 19|district shall have the same powers and duties that boards of | | | 20|education of independent school districts have. It may require | | | 21|nonresident students to pay reasonable tuition fees, which may be | | | 22|paid for a student by the independent or elementary school district | | | 23|in which the student resides. | | | 24| | | | Req. No. 550 Page 3 ___________________________________________________________________________
1| F. An election to vote on the question of making a levy of not | | | 2|to exceed five (5) mills on the dollar valuation of the taxable | | | 3|property in a technology center school district under the provisions | | | 4|of subsection A, Section 9B, Article X, Oklahoma Constitution, shall | | | 5|be called by the board of education and conducted by the county | | | 6|election board of such district in the same manner that elections | | | 7|for emergency levies in school districts under the provisions of | | | 8|Section 9(d), Article X, Oklahoma Constitution, are called and | | | 9|conducted. When such levy is approved by a majority of the electors | | | 10|of the technology center school district voting on the question at | | | 11|such election, the levy shall be made each fiscal year thereafter | | | 12|until repealed by a majority of the electors of the district voting | | | 13|on the question at an election called for such purpose. An election | | | 14|to vote on the question of making a local incentive levy of not to | | | 15|exceed five (5) mills on the dollar valuation of the taxable | | | 16|property in a technology center school district under the provisions | | | 17|of subsection B of Section 9B of Article X of the Oklahoma | | | 18|Constitution, may be called by the board of education; and elections | | | 19|on a levy for a building fund for an area school district under the | | | 20|provisions of Section 10, Article X, Oklahoma Constitution, shall be | | | 21|called by the board of education of such district and conducted by | | | 22|the county election board in the same manner that elections for | | | 23|similar levies are called and conducted in independent school | | | 24|districts. Provided, qualified electors voting on elections | | | Req. No. 550 Page 4 ___________________________________________________________________________
1|provided pursuant to this paragraph shall include persons who own | | | 2|real property located within a technology center school district. | | | 3| G. Annual estimates of needs of technology center school | | | 4|districts shall be made and approved in the same manner that those | | | 5|of independent school districts are made and approved. Provided, | | | 6|that the State Board of Career and Technology Education shall | | | 7|prescribe a list of appropriation accounts by which the funds of | | | 8|technology center school districts shall be budgeted, accounted for | | | 9|and expended. Any such estimate of needs may include an estimate of | | | 10|federal funds as probable income from sources other than ad valorem | | | 11|tax of the district and other than any excise or other tax assessed | | | 12|by legislative enactment and distributed in lieu of ad valorem | | | 13|taxes. If a technology center school district lies in more than one | | | 14|county, the district's estimate of needs shall be filed with and | | | 15|approved by the county excise board of the county designated by the | | | 16|school district board of education. | | | 17| H. Territory may be annexed to or detached from a technology | | | 18|center school district, in accordance with rules prescribed by the | | | 19|State Board of Career and Technology Education. If the State Board | | | 20|of Career and Technology Education requires the submission of a | | | 21|petition in order for an election to be called for the purpose of | | | 22|annexation or deannexation of territory to a technology center | | | 23|school district, such petition shall not be required to bear a | | | 24|number of technology center school district electors' signatures | | | Req. No. 550 Page 5 ___________________________________________________________________________
1|which exceed fifty percent (50%) of the number of technology center | | | 2|school district electors who voted in the last school board election | | | 3|in the territory proposed to be annexed or deannexed. Provided, the | | | 4|period of time from which the petition is initiated to its time of | | | 5|filing with the State Board shall not exceed ninety (90) days. | | | 6| I. Schools of technology center school districts shall be | | | 7|subject to classification, inspection, and accreditation by the | | | 8|State Board of Education. | | | 9| J. The technology center school board of education may | | | 10|designate a county treasurer to serve as treasurer of the school | | | 11|district or may appoint an independent treasurer. | | | 12| K. Within four (4) years after the creation of a technology | | | 13|center school district, such school district may, at its discretion, | | | 14|permit a teacher to transfer any or all accrued benefits upon | | | 15|employment including credit for years of service in the previous | | | 16|school district by the technology center school district, if the | | | 17|teacher at the time of hiring is employed as a teacher by an | | | 18|independent or elementary school district which is all or partly | | | 19|within the boundaries of the technology center school district or is | | | 20|employed as a teacher in a skills center within the boundaries of | | | 21|the school district. | | | 22| L. The board of education of a technology center school | | | 23|district may convey surplus personal property without consideration | | | 24|to : | | | Req. No. 550 Page 6 ___________________________________________________________________________
1| 1. A school district that is within the boundary of the | | | 2|technology center school district; | | | 3| 2. A public school offering secondary level education which was | | | 4|created and is operated bythe State of Oklahomathis state and that | | | 5|is within the boundary of the technology center school district; | | | 6| 3. A technology center school district; or | | | 7| 4. The Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education | | | 8|for the support or delivery of department initiatives. | | | 9| M. The board of education of a technology center school | | | 10|district may, without prior approval of the State Board of Career | | | 11|and Technology Education, approve all plans and specifications for | | | 12|technology center school buildings, additions, and major | | | 13|modifications to school buildings that are designed to provide for | | | 14|the offering of vocational-technical education programs and services | | | 15|when the cost of the building project is to be paid with local | | | 16|levies or state bond monies or both local levies and state bond | | | 17|monies. | | | 18| SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 15-103, is | | | 19|amended to read as follows: | | | 20| Section 15-103. On the question of issuance of said bonds, no | | | 21|person shall be qualified to vote unless he or she be in all | | | 22|respects a school district elector of such district or unless a | | | 23|person owns real property located within the school district. In | | | 24|case three-fifths (3/5) of the voters thereof voting at such | | | Req. No. 550 Page 7 ___________________________________________________________________________
1|election shall vote affirmatively for the issuance of said bonds, | | | 2|then the said board of education shall issue the same and not | | | 3|otherwise. The amount of the bonds so voted upon and issued shall | | | 4|not cause the school district to become indebted in an amount, | | | 5|including existing indebtedness, in the aggregate exceeding five | | | 6|percent (5%) of the valuation of the taxable property therein, to be | | | 7|ascertained from the last assessment for state and county purposes | | | 8|previous to the incurring of such indebtedness; but if the school | | | 9|district has an absolute need therefor, such district may, with the | | | 10|assent of three-fifths (3/5) of the voters thereof, voting at such | | | 11|election, incur indebtedness to an amount, including existing | | | 12|indebtedness, in the aggregate exceeding five percent (5%) but not | | | 13|exceeding ten percent (10%) of the valuation of the taxable property | | | 14|therein, to be ascertained from the last assessment for state and | | | 15|county purposes previous to the incurring of such indebtedness, for | | | 16|the purpose of acquiring or improving school sites, constructing, | | | 17|repairing, remodeling or equipping buildings or acquiring school | | | 18|furniture, fixtures or equipment or more than one or all of such | | | 19|purposes; and such assent to such indebtedness shall be deemed to be | | | 20|a sufficient showing of such absolute need. Section 26, Article X, | | | 21|of the Oklahoma Constitution, as amended on April 5, 1955, shall | | | 22|hereafter be in full force and effect. Provided, that any bond | | | 23|election that shall have heretofore been called or held in | | | 24|accordance with the provisions of Section 26, Article X, of the | | | Req. No. 550 Page 8 ___________________________________________________________________________
1|Oklahoma Constitution, as amended on April 5, 1955, is hereby | | | 2|validated if the bonds so authorized at such election have not yet | | | 3|been sold and delivered. | | | 4| SECTION 3. This act shall become effective November 1, 2023. | | | 5| | | | 6| 59-1-550 QD 1/18/2023 6:37:45 PM | | | 7| | | | 8| | | | 9| | | | 10| | | | 11| | | | 12| | | | 13| | | | 14| | | | 15| | | | 16| | | | 17| | | | 18| | | | 19| | | | 20| | | | 21| | | | 22| | | | 23| | | | 24| | | | Req. No. 550 Page 9