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House Bill 397 |
House Author: Gonzales, Veronica et al. |
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Effective: Vetoed |
Senate Sponsor: Uresti et al. |
House Bill 397 amends the Government Code to create the Bureau for Economic Development of the Border Region to facilitate research in fields of study affecting the economy in the border region and perform certain other duties. The bureau would be administered by certain institutions of higher education and have an appointed steering committee. Funding for the bureau would be from pledges, gifts, or endowments.
Reason Given for Veto: "House Bill 397 would create a new Bureau for Economic Development of the Border Region. The administration of this bureau would rotate every two years among a private university and five public universities. This legislation does not provide any additional funding to the institutions of higher education to administer this bureau, and would therefore put a fiscal burden on the universities, potentially redirecting their funds away from their primary purpose of education.
"In addition, several state organizations, both public and private, currently perform similar economic development functions, and there are tools in place to encourage job creation throughout the state, including the border region. This bureau is an unfunded mandate on institutions of higher education and duplicates the work several other organizations already perform."