LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas
FISCAL NOTE
75th Regular Session
May 19, 1997
TO: Honorable Irma Rangel, Chair IN RE: Senate Bill No. 1907, Committee Report 2nd House, Substituted
Committee on Higher Education By: Bivins
House
Austin, Texas
FROM: John Keel, Director
In response to your request for a Fiscal Note on SB1907 ( Relating
to tuition and fees charged by public institutions of higher
education, including the redesignation of certain fees as tuition.)
this office has detemined the following:
Biennial Net Impact to General Revenue Funds by SB1907-Committee Report 2nd House, Substituted
Implementing the provisions of the bill would result in a net
impact of $0 to General Revenue Related Funds through the biennium
ending August 31, 1999.
The bill would make no appropriation but could provide the legal
basis for an appropriation of funds to implement the provisions
of the bill.
Fiscal Analysis
The bill would amend the Education Code to reclassify the building
use fee as tuition; would specify the maximum charges; and would
exclude it from the Texas Public Education grants. The bill
would exclude tuition above the minimum level from educational
and general funds and would require that it is not accounted
for in determining an institution's general revenue appropriation.
The bill would increase the resident tuition at a law school
from $75 per semester credit hour to $80 per semester credit
hour and would set nonresident law tuition at the same amount
that can be charged a nonresident graduate student.
The bill
would authorize a governing board to waive fees under certain
circumstances including for students enrolled only in distance
learning courses and for students that cannot reasonably be
expected to use the services, provided that waiver of the fees
will still enable the institution to provide the service or
facility and meet any debt obligations.
The bill would authorize
governing boards to fix and collect rentals, rates, and charges
from students and other for use of facilities. This revenue
could be used towards paying bonds.
The change to tuition
would take effect for the 1997 fall semester.
Methodolgy
Because the bill reclassifies the building use fee as tuition
but does not authorize an increase in the total tuition that
an institution could charge as compared to the amount that an
institution could previously have charged for tuition and building
use fees, there would be no impact on the amount of designated
funds for institutions of higher education.
The bill would
increase the amount of tuition charged at a law school by $5
per semester credit hour. The semester credit hours during
the base period for law totaled 109,465. The increase in Other
Educational and General Income (Other E&G) amounts are shown
in the table below. This increase in Other E&G would result
in a redistribution of general revenue from the law schools
under the all funds methodology. The institutions with law
schools are UT Austin, University of Houston, Texas Southern
University, and Texas Tech University.
It is assumed that
the fee waivers for distance learning courses and for students
that cannot use the facility or services would not have a significant
fiscal impact on the institutions.
The probable fiscal implications of implementing the provisions
of the bill during each of the first five years following passage
is estimated as follows:
Five Year Impact:
Fiscal Year Probable Revenue
Gain/(Loss) from
Other
Educational and
General Income/
GR-Dedicated
8022
1998 $547,325
1998 547,325
2000 547,325
2001 547,325
2002 547,325
Net Impact on General Revenue Related Funds:
Fiscal Year Probable Net Postive/(Negative)
General Revenue Related Funds
Funds
1998 $0
1999 0
2000 0
2001 0
2002 0
Similar annual fiscal implications would continue as long as
the provisions of the bill are in effect.
No fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.
Source: Agencies:
LBB Staff: JK ,LP ,LD