Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HJR139 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R3874 KEL-F
2	2	By: Branch H.J.R. No. 139
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5	5	A JOINT RESOLUTION
6	6	proposing a constitutional amendment establishing the national
7	7	research university fund to enable emerging research universities
8	8	in this state to achieve national prominence as major research
9	9	universities and transferring the balance of the higher education
10	10	fund to the national research university fund.
11	11	BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Article VII, Texas Constitution, is amended by
13	13	adding Section 20 to read as follows:
14	14	Sec. 20. (a) There is established the national research
15	15	university fund for the purpose of providing a dedicated,
16	16	independent, and equitable source of funding to enable emerging
17	17	research universities in this state to achieve national prominence
18	18	as major research universities.
19	19	(b) The fund consists of money transferred or deposited to
20	20	the credit of the fund and any interest or other return on the
21	21	investment assets of the fund. The legislature may dedicate state
22	22	revenue to the credit of the fund.
23	23	(c) The legislature shall provide for administration of the
24	24	fund, which shall be invested in the manner and according to the
25	25	standards provided for investment of the permanent university fund.
26	26	The expenses of managing the investments of the fund shall be paid
27	27	from the fund.
28	28	(d) In each state fiscal biennium, the legislature may
29	29	appropriate as provided by Subsection (f) of this section all or a
30	30	portion of the total return on all investment assets of the fund to
31	31	carry out the purposes for which the fund is established.
32	32	(e) The legislature biennially shall allocate the amounts
33	33	appropriated under this section, or shall provide for a biennial
34	34	allocation of those amounts, to eligible state universities to
35	35	carry out the purposes of the fund. The money shall be allocated
36	36	based on an equitable formula established by the legislature or an
37	37	agency designated by the legislature. The legislature shall review
38	38	and as appropriate adjust, or provide for a review and adjustment,
39	39	of the allocation formula at the end of each state fiscal biennium.
40	40	(f) The portion of the total return on investment assets of
41	41	the fund that is available for appropriation in a state fiscal
42	42	biennium under this section is the portion necessary to provide as
43	43	nearly as practicable a stable and predictable stream of annual
44	44	distributions to eligible state universities and to maintain over
45	45	time the purchasing power of fund investment assets. If the
46	46	purchasing power of fund investment assets for any rolling 10-year
47	47	period is not preserved, the legislature may not appropriate money
48	48	from the fund until the purchasing power of the fund investment
49	49	assets is restored. The amount appropriated from the fund in any
50	50	fiscal year may not exceed an amount equal to seven percent of the
51	51	average net fair market value of the investment assets of the fund.
52	52	(g) The legislature shall establish criteria by which a
53	53	state university may become eligible to receive a portion of the
54	54	distributions from the fund. A state university that becomes
55	55	eligible to receive a portion of the distributions from the fund in
56	56	a state fiscal biennium remains eligible to receive additional
57	57	distributions from the fund in any subsequent state fiscal
58	58	biennium. The University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M University,
59	59	and Prairie View A&M University are not eligible to receive money
60	60	from the fund.
61	61	(h) An eligible state university may use distributions from
62	62	the fund only for the support and maintenance of educational and
63	63	general activities that promote increased research capacity at the
64	64	university.
65	65	SECTION 2. Section 17(i), Article VII, Texas Constitution,
66	66	is repealed.
67	67	SECTION 3. The following temporary provision is added to
68	68	the Texas Constitution:
69	69	TEMPORARY PROVISION. (a) This temporary provision applies
70	70	to the constitutional amendment proposed by the 81st Legislature,
71	71	Regular Session, 2009, establishing the national research
72	72	university fund to enable emerging research universities in this
73	73	state to achieve national prominence as major research universities
74	74	and transferring the balance of the higher education fund to the
75	75	national research university fund.
76	76	(b) The amendment to add Section 20 to Article VII of this
77	77	constitution and to repeal Section 17(i), Article VII, of this
78	78	constitution takes effect January 1, 2010.
79	79	(c) On January 1, 2010, any amount in or payable to the
80	80	credit of the higher education fund established by Section 17(i),
81	81	Article VII, Texas Constitution, shall be transferred to the credit
82	82	of the national research university fund.
83	83	(d) This temporary provision expires January 1, 2011.
84	84	SECTION 4. This proposed constitutional amendment shall be
85	85	submitted to the voters at an election to be held November 3, 2009.
86	86	The ballot shall be printed to permit voting for or against the
87	87	proposition: "The constitutional amendment establishing the
88	88	national research university fund to enable emerging research
89	89	universities in this state to achieve national prominence as major
90	90	research universities and transferring the balance of the higher
91	91	education fund to the national research university fund."