1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the approval of certain construction projects by the
1-3 Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Subsection (a), Section 61.058, Education Code,
1-6 is amended to read as follows:
1-7 (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this section,
1-8 the board shall approve or disapprove all new construction and
1-9 repair and rehabilitation of all buildings and facilities at
1-10 institutions of higher education financed from any source provided
1-11 that:
1-12 (A) the board's consideration and determination shall
1-13 be limited to the purpose for which the new or remodeled buildings
1-14 are to be used to assure conformity with approved space utilization
1-15 standards and the institution's approved programs and role and
1-16 mission if the cost of the project is not more than $2,000,000
1-17 [$600,000], but the board may consider cost factors and the
1-18 financial implications of the project to the state if the total
1-19 cost is in excess of $2,000,000 [$600,000];
1-20 (B) the requirement of approval for new construction
1-21 applies only to projects the total cost of which is in excess of
1-22 $1,000,000 [$300,000];
1-23 (C) the requirement of approval for major repair and
1-24 rehabilitation of buildings and facilities applies only to a
2-1 project the total cost of which is more than $2,000,000 [$600,000];
2-2 (D) the requirement of approval or disapproval by the
2-3 board does not apply to any new construction or major repair and
2-4 rehabilitation project that is specifically approved by the
2-5 legislature;
2-6 (E) the requirement of approval by the board does not
2-7 apply to a junior college's construction, repair, or rehabilitation
2-8 financed entirely with funds from a source other than the state,
2-9 including funds from ad valorem tax receipts of the college, gifts,
2-10 grants, and donations to the college, and student fees; and
2-11 (F) the requirement of approval by the board does not
2-12 apply to construction, repair, or rehabilitation of privately owned
2-13 buildings and facilities located on land leased from an institution
2-14 of higher education if the construction, repair, or rehabilitation
2-15 is financed entirely from funds not under the control of the
2-16 institution, and provided further that:
2-17 (i) the buildings and facilities are to be used
2-18 exclusively for auxiliary enterprises; and
2-19 (ii) the buildings and facilities will not
2-20 require appropriations from the legislature for operation,
2-21 maintenance, or repair unless approval by the board has been
2-22 obtained.
2-23 SECTION 2. The importance of this legislation and the
2-24 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
2-25 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
2-26 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
2-27 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
3-1 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
3-2 passage, and it is so enacted.
_______________________________ _______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 3319 was passed by the House on April
16, 1999, by the following vote: Yeas 136, Nays 0, 2 present, not
voting.
_______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 3319 was passed by the Senate on May
10, 1999, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 0.
_______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: _____________________
Date
_____________________
Governor