(a) The Texas Education Code, §130.087, requires the Board to determine that:
  (1) the branch campus maintenance tax rate does not exceed five cents on each $100 valuation of all taxable property;
  (2) a certified petition has been submitted by the appropriate authorities to the Board; and
  (3) the proposed tax is feasible and desirable.
(b) The Board shall apply the following criteria when considering the appropriateness for the levying of a branch campus maintenance tax:
  (1) Demographic and economic characteristics of the jurisdiction seeking to establish the maintenance tax, such things as:
    (A) population trends by age group;
    (B) economic development trends and projection; and
    (C) employment trends and projection (i.e., supply-demand data).
  (2) Potential student clientele, including:
    (A) educational levels by age group; and
    (B) college-bound data (i.e., trends by age group).
  (3) The financial status of the proposed jurisdiction to be taxed and the state as a whole, including:
    (A) any projected growth or decline in the tax base; and
    (B) trends in state appropriations for community/junior colleges and other institutions of higher education.
  (4) Projected programs and services for the proposed jurisdiction based on economic and population trends.
  (5) Proximity and impediments to programs and services to existing institutions of higher education such as:
    (A) identification of institutions that could be effected by a new branch campus; and
    (B) documentation of existing programs and services:
      (i) on the campuses of nearby institutions of higher education;
      (ii) available to citizens within a 50 mile radius of the proposed jurisdiction; and
      (iii) offered in the proposed jurisdiction by existing institutions of higher education;
    (C) financial limitations on existing institutions of higher education inhibiting the offering of programs and services in the proposed jurisdiction;
    (D) availability of facilities, libraries, and equipment for institutions to offer classes in the proposed jurisdiction;
    (E) distance and traffic patterns to existing institutions of higher education;
    (F) effect on enrollments of existing institutions of higher education; and
    (G) effect on financing of existing institutions of higher education.
(c) The Board's Committee on Community and Technical Colleges may conduct one or more public hearings in the proposed jurisdiction to:
  (1) assess public sentiment regarding the levying of a branch campus maintenance tax;
  (2) determine whether programs in the proposed jurisdiction would create unnecessary duplication or seriously harm programs in existing community/junior college districts or other institutions of higher education in the area; and
  (3) assess the potential impact of the proposed jurisdiction on existing community/junior colleges or other institutions of higher education in the area and on the State of Texas.
(d) After the self-study has been reviewed and, if applicable, a site visit conducted by the Committee on Community and Technical Colleges and Board staff, a report from the Board staff shall be submitted to the Commissioner indicating whether the criteria as set out in subsection (b) of this section have been met. The report shall include a recommendation for approval or denial of the request for approval to hold an election to levy a branch campus maintenance tax, but shall not be binding on the Commissioner or the Board.

Source Note: The provisions of this §8.99 adopted to be effective June 2, 1998, 23 TexReg 5670.