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.