79S30773 JRD-D

By:  Williams, Janek                                              S.B. No. 23 


A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the costs of damages to Lamar University and its related institutions caused by Hurricane Rita; making an appropriation. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. DEFINITION. In this Act, "Lamar University or its related institutions" includes Lamar University and its educational centers, Lamar Institute of Technology, Lamar State College--Port Arthur, and Lamar State College--Orange. SECTION 2. APPROPRIATION. (a) In addition to amounts previously appropriated for the state fiscal biennium ending August 31, 2007, the amount of $33,500,000 is appropriated out of the general revenue fund to the Texas State University System for the remainder of the state fiscal biennium ending August 31, 2007, to pay the costs of or reimburse expenditures for repairing or replacing buildings and equipment damaged by Hurricane Rita at Lamar University or its related institutions. (b) The Texas State University System shall distribute the money appropriated by Subsection (a) of this section to Lamar University and its related institutions, allocating the money among Lamar University and its related institutions as the system considers appropriate to address the hurricane-related needs of those institutions. SECTION 3. FEDERAL MONEY. (a) If the Texas State University System, Lamar University or its related institutions, or another state agency, institution, or office receives reimbursement from the federal government for expenditures made by the state for the purposes described by Section 2 of this Act, the amounts received may not be spent without the prior approval of the governor and the Legislative Budget Board and any state statute dedicating that money for a particular purpose does not apply. (b) It is the intent of the legislature that the governor and the Legislative Budget Board consider the money described by Subsection (a) of this section to be available for budget execution transfers to the extent that the governor and the Legislative Budget Board determine that the federal reimbursement covers the same costs or expenditures as those covered by the appropriation made by this Act. SECTION 4. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes effect on the 91st day after the last day of the legislative session.