BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 3312

By: Morrison

Higher Education

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

There have been calls for the construction of a health and wellness center at the University of Houston-Victoria, a project which reports suggest is supported by the student body. C.S.H.B. 3312 seeks to provide for such a facility by authorizing the imposition of a health and wellness center fee, subject to approval in a general student election.

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

C.S.H.B. 3312 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-Victoria a health and wellness center fee. The bill restricts the use of the fee to financing, constructing, operating, maintaining, improving, and equipping a health and wellness center at the University of Houston-Victoria and establishes that the fee is in addition to any use or service fee authorized to be charged under other law. The bill makes the charging of the fee contingent on approval 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 amount of the fee at $150 per student for each regular semester, $100 per student for each summer session of 10 weeks or longer, or $50 per student for each summer session of less than 10 weeks.

C.S.H.B. 3312 requires revenue from the fee to be deposited to the credit of an account known as the University of Houston-Victoria Health and Wellness Center Fee Account under the control of the university's student fee advisory committee. The bill requires the committee to submit the following annually to the president of the university:

· the committee's recommendation for any change to the amount of the fee;

· a complete and itemized budget for the center; and

· a complete report of all center activities conducted during the past year and all expenditures made in connection with those activities.

The bill requires the president to submit the budget to the board as part of the university's institutional budget and authorizes the board to make changes in the budget that the board determines are necessary.

C.S.H.B. 3312 authorizes the board to increase the amount of a fee charged under the bill's provisions, except that a fee increase by 10 percent or more of the amount of the fee charged during the preceding academic year must be 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 under certain statutory limits. The bill establishes that, for purposes of determining whether to waive the imposition of the fee as authorized by law for a student who is not reasonably able to participate in or use the applicable activity, service, or facility, a student is considered not reasonably able to use the health and wellness center for which the fee is imposed if the student lives more than 50 miles outside the corporate limits of Victoria, Texas.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2019.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 3312 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

The substitute replaces references to a recreation and wellness center with references to a health and wellness center.