This website will be unavailable from Friday, April 26, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. through Monday, April 29, 2024 at 7:00 a.m. due to data center maintenance.



	
Amend HB 3057 (Senate committee printing) by adding the 
following appropriately numbered SECTIONS to the bill and 
renumbering subsequent SECTIONS of the bill accordingly:
	SECTION __.  Chapter 373, Local Government Code, is amended 
by adding Section 373.0041 to read as follows:
	Sec. 373.0041.  TRANSFER OF CERTAIN PROPERTY AUTHORIZED.  In 
addition to any work or activity conducted under Section 373.004, a 
municipality that has a population of 1.18 million or more and that 
has adopted a council-manager form of government may, as part of the 
municipality's community development program under this chapter, 
transfer real property that has a historic designation to a state 
university or university system for the purpose of establishing a 
public law school under Section 105.502, Education Code, that is 
designed to further the purposes listed by Section 373.002(b).
	SECTION ___.  Subchapter J, Chapter 105, Education Code, is 
amended by adding Section 105.502 to read as follows:
	Sec. 105.502.  UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS SYSTEM SCHOOL OF 
LAW.  (a)  The board may establish and operate a school of law in 
the city of Dallas as a professional school of the University of 
North Texas System.
	(b)  In administering the law school, the board may prescribe 
courses leading to customary degrees offered at other leading 
American schools of law and may award those degrees.
	(c)  Until the University of North Texas at Dallas has been 
administered as a general academic teaching institution for five 
years, the board shall administer the law school as a professional 
school of the system.  After that period, the law school shall 
become a professional school of the University of North Texas at 
Dallas.  Until the law school becomes a professional school of the 
University of North Texas at Dallas, the law school is entitled to 
formula funding as if the law school were a professional school of a 
general academic teaching institution.
	(d)  Before the board establishes a law school under this 
section, but not later than June 1, 2008, the Texas Higher Education 
Coordinating Board shall prepare a feasibility study to determine 
the actions the system must take to obtain accreditation of the law 
school.  The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall 
deliver a copy of the study to the chair of each legislative 
standing committee or subcommittee with jurisdiction over higher 
education.
	SECTION ___.  Subchapter B, Chapter 55, Education Code, is 
amended by adding Section 55.1765 to read as follows:
	Sec. 55.1765.  UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS SYSTEM; ADDITIONAL 
BONDS.  (a)  In addition to the other authority granted by this 
subchapter, the board of regents of the University of North Texas 
System may acquire, purchase, construct, improve, renovate, 
enlarge, or equip property, buildings, structures, or other 
facilities, including roads and related infrastructure, for the law 
school established in the city of Dallas by the University of North 
Texas System, to be financed by the issuance of bonds in accordance 
with this subchapter, including bonds issued in accordance with a 
system-wide revenue financing program and secured as provided by 
that program, in an aggregate principal amount not to exceed $30 
million.
	(b)  The board of regents may pledge irrevocably to the 
payment of the bonds authorized by this section all or any part of 
the revenue funds of an institution, branch, or entity of the 
University of North Texas System, including student tuition 
charges.  The amount of a pledge made under this subsection may not 
be reduced or abrogated while the bonds for which the pledge is 
made, or bonds issued to refund those bonds, are outstanding.
	(c)  If sufficient funds are not available to the board of 
regents to meet its obligations under this section, the board may 
transfer funds among institutions, branches, and entities of the 
University of North Texas System to ensure the most equitable and 
efficient allocation of available resources for each institution, 
branch, or entity to carry out its duties and purposes.
	(d)  Notwithstanding Subsection (a), the University of North 
Texas System may not issue bonds under this section for facilities 
at the law school established by the system until the date that the 
law school receives provisional or other appropriate accreditation 
by a recognized accrediting agency, as defined by Section 61.003.  
If the law school does not receive the provisional or other 
appropriate accreditation by January 1, 2010, the system's 
authority to issue bonds for the law school under this section 
expires on that date.