By: Lucio, et al. S.B. No. 251
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
1-1 relating to the conversion of the McAllen extension center of the
1-2 Texas State Technical College System to a joint-county junior
1-3 college.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 130, Education Code, is
1-6 amended by adding Section 130.0311 to read as follows:
1-7 Sec. 130.0311. SOUTH TEXAS COMMUNITY COLLEGE. (a) The
1-8 McAllen extension center of the Texas State Technical College
1-9 System is converted to a joint-county junior college located in
1-10 Hidalgo and Starr counties to be known as South Texas Community
1-11 College.
1-12 (b) South Texas Community College's territory consists of
1-13 the area within the boundaries of Hidalgo and Starr counties.
1-14 (c) South Texas Community College is governed by an initial
1-15 board of trustees composed of seven members appointed by the
1-16 governor to serve until the earlier of January 1, 2000, or the
1-17 date that an election is held at which a majority of the votes cast
1-18 at the election favor the confirmation of the college.
1-19 (d) Not later than September 1, 1993, the governor shall
1-20 appoint at least one member of the initial board of trustees from
1-21 Hidalgo County and at least one member from Starr County. A
1-22 trustee shall, during the trustee's term of office, reside in the
1-23 county from which the trustee was elected.
1-24 (e) A vacancy on the initial board of trustees shall be
2-1 filled in the same manner as the original appointment for the
2-2 unexpired term. To be eligible for appointment, the individual
2-3 must be a resident of the county from which the original
2-4 appointment was made.
2-5 (f) The board of trustees may employ staff to operate South
2-6 Texas Community College.
2-7 (g) Notwithstanding Section 130.003(b) of this code, South
2-8 Texas Community College is not required to be certified as a public
2-9 junior college under Section 61.063 of this code to be eligible for
2-10 and to receive a proportionate share of the appropriation under
2-11 Section 130.003 of this code.
2-12 (h) Notwithstanding Section 130.036 of this code, the board
2-13 of trustees of South Texas Community College shall call and hold an
2-14 election within Hidalgo and Starr counties not later than January
2-15 1, 1995, to confirm the creation of the college and to authorize
2-16 the election of the board of trustees from single-member districts,
2-17 the issuance of bonds, and the imposition of taxes.
2-18 (i) Notice of the election shall state the day and places
2-19 for holding the election and the proposition to be voted on and
2-20 shall list the appointed board of trustees. The board of trustees
2-21 shall publish the notice of the election one time in one or more
2-22 newspapers of general circulation in Hidalgo and Starr counties.
2-23 The notice must be published before the 35th day before the date
2-24 set for the election.
2-25 (j) The ballot shall specify that if South Texas Community
2-26 College is confirmed:
2-27 (1) the board of trustees must be composed of at least
3-1 one trustee for each county;
3-2 (2) the trustees must be elected from single-member
3-3 districts;
3-4 (3) the board of trustees may contract with The
3-5 University of Texas--Pan American to provide remedial and
3-6 lower-level courses; and
3-7 (4) the board of trustees may contract with public
3-8 schools to provide technical preparation courses.
3-9 (k) Immediately after the election, the presiding judge of
3-10 each polling place shall deliver returns of the election to the
3-11 board of trustees, and the board of trustees shall canvass the
3-12 returns and declare the result. If a majority of the votes cast at
3-13 the election favor confirmation of South Texas Community College,
3-14 the board of trustees shall declare the college confirmed, enter
3-15 the results in its minutes, and call and hold an election in
3-16 accordance with Section 130.0822 of this code.
3-17 (l) If a majority of the votes cast at the election are
3-18 against the confirmation of South Texas Community College, the
3-19 board of trustees shall declare that the confirmation of the
3-20 college was defeated and shall enter the results in its minutes.
3-21 If a majority of the voters at the election vote against the
3-22 confirmation of South Texas Community College, the board of
3-23 trustees may call and hold additional confirmation elections.
3-24 (m) If South Texas Community College is not confirmed in
3-25 accordance with this section before August 31, 2001, the college is
3-26 abolished on that date.
3-27 (n) This section expires January 1, 2002.
4-1 SECTION 2. (a) Not later than the 30th day after the date
4-2 that a quorum of the initial board of trustees of South Texas
4-3 Community College has qualified for office, the governing board of
4-4 the Texas State Technical College System shall transfer the
4-5 records, contracts and other obligations, and real and personal
4-6 property of the McAllen extension center to the initial board of
4-7 trustees of South Texas Community College.
4-8 (b) In contracts or other obligations transferred under this
4-9 section, the board of trustees of South Texas Community College is
4-10 substituted for and acts in the place of the governing board of the
4-11 Texas State Technical College System.
4-12 (c) On the date that a quorum of the initial board of
4-13 trustees of South Texas Community College has qualified for office,
4-14 the unexpended and unobligated balance of the appropriation for the
4-15 fiscal biennium beginning September 1, 1993, to Texas State
4-16 Technical College--Harlingen for the McAllen extension center and
4-17 the McAllen physical plant is transferred and reappropriated to
4-18 South Texas Community College to operate the college.
4-19 (d) The initial board of trustees of South Texas Community
4-20 College shall direct the secretary of state to publish in the Texas
4-21 Register notice of:
4-22 (1) the creation of the college;
4-23 (2) the date that a quorum of the initial board has
4-24 qualified for office; and
4-25 (3) the abolition of the McAllen extension center of
4-26 the Texas State Technical College System.
4-27 SECTION 3. Subsection (a), Section 135.02, Education Code,
5-1 is amended to read as follows:
5-2 (a) The Texas State Technical College System is composed of:
5-3 (1) a system office located in the city of Waco in
5-4 McLennan County;
5-5 (2) a campus located in the city of Amarillo in Potter
5-6 County;
5-7 (3) a campus located in the city of Harlingen in
5-8 Cameron County;
5-9 (4) a campus located in the city of Sweetwater in
5-10 Nolan County;
5-11 (5) an extension center located in the city of
5-12 Marshall in Harrison County; <and>
5-13 (6) <(5)> a campus located in the city of Waco in
5-14 McLennan County;
5-15 (7) <(6)> an extension center <centers> in the <city
5-16 of McAllen in Hidalgo County and the> city of Abilene in Taylor
5-17 County and an extension program offered through a rural technology
5-18 center in the city of Breckenridge in Stephens County; and
5-19 (8) <(7)> other campuses assigned to the system from
5-20 time to time by specific legislative Act.
5-21 SECTION 4. (a) Except as otherwise provided by this
5-22 section, this Act takes effect immediately.
5-23 (b) Sections 2 and 3 of this Act take effect on the date
5-24 that a quorum of the initial board of trustees of South Texas
5-25 Community College has qualified for office. If a quorum of the
5-26 initial board of trustees of South Texas Community College has not
5-27 qualified for office before August 31, 2001, Sections 2 and 3 of
6-1 this Act have no effect.
6-2 (c) If South Texas Community College is not confirmed by a
6-3 majority of the votes cast at an election held under this Act
6-4 before August 31, 2001, this Act expires on that date.
6-5 SECTION 5. The importance of this legislation and the
6-6 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
6-7 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
6-8 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
6-9 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
6-10 and that this Act take effect and be in force according to its
6-11 terms, and it is so enacted.