| 1 | 1 | | H.B. No. 2954 |
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| 2 | 2 | | |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | AN ACT |
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| 5 | 5 | | relating to authorizing an increase in the student center fee at |
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| 6 | 6 | | Texas Southern University. |
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| 7 | 7 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 8 | 8 | | SECTION 1. Section 54.522, Education Code, is amended by |
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| 9 | 9 | | amending Subsections (a), (c), (d), and (e) and adding Subsection |
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| 10 | 10 | | (f) to read as follows: |
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| 11 | 11 | | (a) The board of regents of Texas Southern University may |
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| 12 | 12 | | impose on each student enrolled in the university [levy and |
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| 13 | 13 | | collect] a student fee not to exceed $75 [$35] per student for each |
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| 14 | 14 | | semester of the regular term [long session] and not to exceed $37.50 |
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| 15 | 15 | | [$17.50] per student for each summer term [of the summer session, |
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| 16 | 16 | | from each student enrolled in Texas Southern University], as the |
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| 17 | 17 | | board determines [may in its discretion be just and] necessary for |
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| 18 | 18 | | the purpose of operating, maintaining, improving, and equipping the |
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| 19 | 19 | | student center and acquiring or constructing additions to the |
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| 20 | 20 | | student center. A fee collected under this section is in addition |
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| 21 | 21 | | to any other use or service fee authorized to be imposed [levied]. |
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| 22 | 22 | | (c) The student fee advisory committee annually shall |
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| 23 | 23 | | submit to the board of regents a complete and itemized budget for |
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| 24 | 24 | | the student center with a complete report of all student center |
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| 25 | 25 | | activities conducted during the past year and all expenditures made |
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| 26 | 26 | | in connection with those activities. The board of regents may make |
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| 27 | 27 | | changes in the budget that the board determines are necessary. |
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| 28 | 28 | | After approving the budget, the board of regents, in accordance |
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| 29 | 29 | | with this section, may impose [levy] the student center fees for |
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| 30 | 30 | | that year in amounts sufficient to meet the budgetary needs of the |
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| 31 | 31 | | student center. |
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| 32 | 32 | | (d) The board may not increase the amount of the student |
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| 33 | 33 | | center fee [by more than 10 percent] in any academic year unless the |
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| 34 | 34 | | amount of the increase is approved by a majority of the students |
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| 35 | 35 | | voting in an election held for that purpose or by a majority of the |
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| 36 | 36 | | student government of the institution. |
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| 37 | 37 | | (e) A fee imposed [levied] under this section may not be |
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| 38 | 38 | | considered in determining the maximum student services fee that may |
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| 39 | 39 | | be charged under Section 54.503(b). |
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| 40 | 40 | | (f) The fee may not be charged after the fifth academic year |
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| 41 | 41 | | in which the fee is first charged unless, before the end of that |
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| 42 | 42 | | academic year, the university has issued bonds payable in whole or |
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| 43 | 43 | | in part from the fee, in which event the fee may not be charged after |
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| 44 | 44 | | the academic year in which all such bonds, including refunding |
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| 45 | 45 | | bonds for those bonds, have been fully paid. |
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| 46 | 46 | | SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies |
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| 47 | 47 | | beginning with student fees charged by a public institution of |
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| 48 | 48 | | higher education for the 2009-2010 academic year. Student fees |
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| 49 | 49 | | charged by a public institution of higher education for an academic |
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| 50 | 50 | | year before that academic year are covered by the law in effect |
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| 51 | 51 | | before the effective date of this Act, and the former law is |
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| 52 | 52 | | continued in effect for that purpose. |
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| 53 | 53 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 54 | 54 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 55 | 55 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 56 | 56 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 57 | 57 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2009. |
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| 58 | 58 | | ______________________________ ______________________________ |
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| 59 | 59 | | President of the Senate Speaker of the House |
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| 60 | 60 | | I certify that H.B. No. 2954 was passed by the House on May 7, |
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| 61 | 61 | | 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 144, Nays 2, 1 present, not |
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| 62 | 62 | | voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B. |
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| 63 | 63 | | No. 2954 on May 29, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 140, Nays 0, |
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| 64 | 64 | | 2 present, not voting. |
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| 65 | 65 | | ______________________________ |
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| 66 | 66 | | Chief Clerk of the House |
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| 67 | 67 | | I certify that H.B. No. 2954 was passed by the Senate, with |
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| 68 | 68 | | amendments, on May 23, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays |
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| 69 | 69 | | 0. |
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| 70 | 70 | | ______________________________ |
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| 71 | 71 | | Secretary of the Senate |
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| 72 | 72 | | APPROVED: __________________ |
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| 73 | 73 | | Date |
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| 74 | 74 | | __________________ |
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| 75 | 75 | | Governor |
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