BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 2921

By: Paul

Higher Education

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The University of Houston-Clear Lake, interested parties note, recently transitioned to a four-year university with the enrollment of over 500 freshmen and sophomores. As such, more students will be living on the university campus, creating a demand for student services. According to the parties, the university's student government recently passed a resolution in support of a fee-based recreation and wellness center building, and the university has also developed a timeline for the proposed recreation and wellness center project and made provisions for faculty and student support for the center. H.B. 2921 seeks to authorize a fee for the center.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

H.B. 2921 amends the Education Code to authorize the board of regents of the University of Houston System to charge each student enrolled at the University of Houston-Clear Lake a recreation and wellness facility fee to be used only for the purpose of financing, constructing, operating, maintaining, improving, and equipping a recreation and wellness facility and for operating recreation and wellness programs at the university. The bill prohibits the fee from being charged unless the charging of the fee is approved by a majority vote of the students enrolled at the university participating in a general student election held for that purpose. The bill caps the fee amount at $150 per student for each regular semester, $75 per student for each summer session of eight weeks or longer, and $50 per student for each term of the summer session of less than eight weeks.

H.B. 2921 requires revenue from the recreation and wellness facility fee to be deposited to the credit of an account known as the University of Houston-Clear Lake recreation and wellness facility fee account. The bill authorizes the board of regents to increase the fee amount, but prohibits the board from increasing it by more than 10 percent the amount charged during the preceding academic year unless the amount of the increase is approved by a majority vote of students enrolled at the university participating in a general student election held for that purpose. The bill establishes that the fee is not considered in determining the maximum amount of student services fees that may be charged.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2015.