| NEWS
| July 21, 2005
Legislature
Governor calls for 2nd special session
Lieutenant governor prevents action
on bonds; 2nd session begins today.
By Megan
Wright
The Shorthorn Staff
As the special session of the Texas Legislature
ended Wednesday without approving a funding method to build an engineering
building and renovate three other buildings, Gov. Rick Perry has
called legislators back for another session today, according to
The Associated Press.
During the regular session, the university requested that the Legislature
give it the authority to borrow $76 million through the sale of
bonds for a new engineering building and the renovation of three
other buildings in the college. However, time ran out before the
measure was approved.
Kate Kettles, UTA governmental relations director, said that usually,
the Legislature would pay the principal and the interest on the
loan for most universities. But she said “there’s been
talk” of the Legislature only paying the interest.
Perry called the special session June 21 to discuss school finance
issues. Once the issue appeared to reach a conclusion, he opened
the session to tuition revenue bonds. This allowed another chance
for the university to have its request approved.
The House approved this funding July 12, leaving the issue in the
Senate’s hands.
However, as the session approached its end without a compromise
on school finance, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst made an announcement,
preventing further action on the bonds.
“He said a few days ago he wouldn’t accept any conference
committee reports,” Kettles said. “He won’t bring
it up for discussion until school finance is resolved.”
She said this isn’t good for other issues that the Legislature
needs to address.
“Nothing is getting done,” she said. “Everything
else is still waiting.”
Kettles said Perry would have to open the call to tuition revenue
bonds specifically for legislators to be allowed to discuss them
again.
“I can only hope that [tuition revenue bonds] are brought
up again,” she said.
Kettles said that upon the start of a new session, the discussions
on the bonds would have to start over. In other words, decisions
made in this special session, such as the
approved House bill for tuition revenue bonds, would not carry over
to the new session.
Engineering Dean Bill Carroll said that if the bonds don’t
pass in the next special session, the school would have to wait
another two years for the issue to be addressed again during the
Legislature’s next regular session.
“In the meantime we’ll be looking at ways to maybe build
onto some existing buildings, leasing some spaces, or we’ll
try to keep the growth down,” he said.
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| —Courtesy
Art
Rick Perry
governor |
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