By Cuellar                                            H.B. No. 3319
         Line and page numbers may not match official copy.
         Bill not drafted by TLC or Senate E&E.
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 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
 2-1     $1,000,000 [$300,000];
 2-2                 (C)  the requirement of approval for major repair and
 2-3     rehabilitation of buildings and facilities applies only to a
 2-4     project the total cost of which is more than $2,000,000 [$600,000];
 2-5                 (D)  the requirement of approval or disapproval by the
 2-6     board does not apply to any new construction or major repair and
 2-7     rehabilitation project that is specifically approved by the
 2-8     legislature;
 2-9                 (E)  the requirement of approval by the board does not
2-10     apply to a junior college's construction, repair, or rehabilitation
2-11     financed entirely with funds from a source other than the state,
2-12     including funds from ad valorem tax receipts of the college, gifts,
2-13     grants, and donations to the college, and student fees; and
2-14                 (F)  the requirement of approval by the board does not
2-15     apply to construction, repair, or rehabilitation of privately owned
2-16     buildings and facilities located on land leased from an institution
2-17     of higher education if the construction, repair, or rehabilitation
2-18     is financed entirely from funds not under the control of the
2-19     institution, and provided further that:
2-20                       (i)  the buildings and facilities are to be used
2-21     exclusively for auxiliary enterprises; and
2-22                       (ii)  the buildings and facilities will not
2-23     require appropriations from the legislature for operation,
2-24     maintenance, or repair unless approval by the board has been
2-25     obtained.
 3-1           SECTION 2.  The importance of this legislation and the
 3-2     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
 3-3     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
 3-4     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
 3-5     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
 3-6     and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
 3-7     passage, and it is so enacted.