HBA-KMH C.S.H.B. 3634 76(R)BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 3634
By: Naishtat
Higher Education
4/12/1999
Committee Report (Substituted)



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

The students of the University of Texas at Austin (UT) have passed a
referendum by a 67 percent affirmative vote to increase the Gregory
Gymnasium renovation fee by $0.85 per student per credit hour.  The
referendum designated the fee increase to pay for the renovation of the
existing Gregory Gymnasium pool and the construction of an outdoor aquatics
center.  

C.S.H.B. 3634 codifies the referendum held on this issue on the UT campus
by creating an aquatics center fee. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Chapter 54, Education Code, by adding Section 54.5372,
as follows: 

Sec.  54.5372.  AQUATICS CENTER FEE; THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN. (a)
Authorizes the board of regents of the University of Texas at Austin (UT)
to impose a fee on each student enrolled at UT a fee not to exceed $0.85
per credit hour per semester. Authorizes the fee to be used for financing,
constructing, renovating, operating, maintaining, and improving an Aquatics
Center at the Gregory Gymnasium Complex. 

(b) Requires the board of regents to prorate the fee allowed under this
section based on the length of semester or term for which the student is
enrolled. 

(c) Prohibits a fee under this section from being imposed  until the first
semester in which the Aquatics Center is made available for use. 

(d) Authorizes the board of regents to pledge revenue from the fee imposed
under this section for the payment of obligations issued for authorized
purposes pursuant to the revenue financing system of UT. 

(e) Prohibits the fee imposed under this section from being counted in
determining the maximum student services fee which may be imposed on
students of UT under this subchapter. 

SECTION 2.  Makes application of this Act prospective beginning with the
fall semester 1999. 

SECTION 3.  Emergency clause.
  Effective date: upon passage.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE

C.S.H.B. 3634 modifies the original in SECTION 1 by deleting the
requirement from proposed Subsection (c) that the university collect the
fee imposed under this section and use it only for the  purpose described
in this section.  Furthermore, Subsection (c) of the substitute,
redesignated from proposed Subsection (d) of the original, states that the
fee may not be collected until the first semester in which the Aquatics
Center is made available for use, rather than the semester in which the
Aquatics Center has been substantially completed and is made available for
use.  Redesignates Subsections (e) and (f) of the original to Subsections
(d) and (e) of the substitute. 

C.S.H.B. 3634 also modifies the original in SECTION 1 by changing the
authority to charge a fee to the authority to impose a fee and makes
nonsubstantive changes.