By Coleman                                            H.B. No. 1296
                                 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
    1-1                                AN ACT
    1-2  relating to student fees for the University Center at the
    1-3  University of Houston.
    1-4        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
    1-5        SECTION 1.  Sec. 54.526, Education Code, is amended to read
    1-6  as follows:
    1-7        (a)  The board of regents of the University of Houston System
    1-8  may levy a student union fee, not to exceed $35 <$15> per student
    1-9  for each regular semester and not to exceed $17.50 <$7.50> per
   1-10  student for each term of the summer session.<,> The <for the> sole
   1-11  purpose of the student union fee shall be the financing,
   1-12  constructing, operating, maintaining, and improving a Student Union
   1-13  Building for the University of Houston. The fees herein authorized
   1-14  to be levied are in addition to any use or service fee now or
   1-15  hereafter authorized to be levied.
   1-16        (b)  Such fees shall be deposited to an account known as "The
   1-17  University of Houston Center Fee Account" and shall be placed under
   1-18  the control of and subject to the order of the Student <Service>
   1-19  Fee Advisory <Planning and Allocations> Committee, established in
   1-20  Section 54.5062, Education Code.  The committee shall annually
   1-21  submit to the president <board of regents> a complete and itemized
   1-22  budget to be accompanied by a full and complete report of all
   1-23  activities conducted during the past year and all expenditures made
    2-1  incident thereto.  The board of regents shall make such changes in
    2-2  the budget as it deems necessary before approving the budget <but
    2-3  may only levy a student union fee or increase an existing student
    2-4  union fee after a student referendum has been called on the levying
    2-5  or increase in such a fee, and the majority of the students voting
    2-6  in the referendum approve>.  The board shall then levy the fees,
    2-7  within the limits herein fixed, in such amounts as will be
    2-8  sufficient to meet the budgetary needs of the University Center
    2-9  Building.  If, in an academic year, the fee charged under this
   2-10  section is more than 10% higher than the previous year, the
   2-11  increase is not effective unless approved by a majority vote of the
   2-12  students or a majority vote of the duly elected student government.
   2-13  Expenditures from "The University of Houston Center Fee Account"
   2-14  shall be made solely for the purposes set forth in this section,
   2-15  and in compliance with the budget approved by the board of regents.
   2-16        SECTION 2.  The importance of this legislation and the
   2-17  crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
   2-18  emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
   2-19  constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
   2-20  days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended