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McAllen ISD told House Bill 19 could force November bond elections; district to wait for June legislative outcome
Summary
Bond counsel and district attorneys updated the facilities advisory committee that House Bill 19 and other legislative proposals could restrict bond elections to November; the district said it will wait for the June close of the session before scheduling a bond election and advised the committee to remain active during the period.
McAllen Independent School District officials received a legislative update on May 19, 2025, that said the timing of any bond election could be affected by pending bills at the Texas Legislature, and that the district should wait for the end of the session before finalizing a schedule for a potential bond.
Doctor (Dr.) De Los Santos of the Estrada firm provided the update and explained why the committee was meeting again quickly after its initial session. “The reason this thing started moving so fast … is because of the pressure that was that is being put on by the legislature to have elections only in November,” he said. De Los Santos said it remained possible that provisions of House Bill 19 could be attached to other bills as the session proceeded.
De Los Santos told the committee bond counsel had advised that the Senate would publish the bills it intended to consider by May 23 and that the legislative session formally ends in early June; he recommended the district await that outcome. “By the 23rd, we should have a real good indication,” he said, and later added, “We’re hopeful that the November-only election time provision is thrown out the window and that this board and other boards … have an opportunity to plan not only for facilities, but for financial options also through May.”
He also warned that House Bill 2 and Senate Bill 2 — the larger budget and general provisions bills — could create new spending requirements for districts, such as personnel pay increases that may be partially unfunded and therefore place additional pressure on district general funds. “Guard your fund balance,” he advised.
District staff told the committee the next advisory meeting would be scheduled after the legislative session ends in early June so that the district and consultants could incorporate any statutory changes into the bond timeline and ballot planning. No formal decision to call a bond election was made at the May 19 meeting.
Committee members were advised to continue meeting and to keep compiling facility priorities even if a November election window were required; staff said MGT would have completed most of its assessments by the June follow-up meeting and the committee could proceed to refine the prioritized list once legislative outcomes were clear.
