Sunday, May 31, 2009

Marcus Funk

The University of North Texas at Dallas College of Law received the seal of approval from the Senate, which voted unanimously to approve the facility.

Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, spoke briefly to thank Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas, and other legislators who worked all session to establish the school. It would be the first public law school in the Dallas area, currently one of the largest metropolitan areas in the country without a public law school. It was well received by Dallas-area Senators, with both Sen. John Carona, R-Dallas, and Bob Deuell, R-Greenville,

Sunday, May 31, 2009

Ralph K.M. Haurwitz

Legislation intended to lift some of the state's public universities to top-tier status has passed the House and Senate and now goes to Gov. Rick Perry, who is expected to sign it.

The measure, House Bill 51, also includes authorization for a $150 million bond issue for the hurricane-damaged University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, part of a $1.3 billion package of funding for that campus, and $5 million for Texas A&M University-Galveston.

Sunday, May 31, 2009

Ralph K.M. Haurwitz

Health insurance for community college employees, a plan to increase the number of top-tier universities and a $150 million bond for a medical school have become hung up in a dispute that has some House and Senate members huddling periodically with each other in an effort to find a resolution.

The health insurance measure, Senate Bill 42, would settle the "proportionality" issue that flared two years ago when Gov. Rick Perry vetoed $154 million in community college funding. But Sen. Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock, objects to the prospect of the state funding benefits for community college employees whose salaries aren't paid by the state.

Sunday, May 31, 2009

Emily Ramshaw

Some House members just objected to taking up several high profile bills that aren't eligible for another three and a half hours -- even though they've been considering other such bills all day.

These bills -- measures that would provide research funding to give more universities "tier 1" status and allow the Texas Department of Transportation and several other state agencies to continue operations -- now may not be heard until 11:40 p.m. That gives them 20

State budget boosts university

05/31/2009

By Enrique Rangel

CANYON, TEXAS -- The following report was release from lubbockonline.com and written by Enrique Rangel

Texas Tech is getting $188 million a year in the next biennium, while the university's Health Sciences Center will get $175 million in fiscal year 2010 and $179 million the following year. West Texas A&M University will get $40 million in each of the next two fiscal years.

Those are the amounts included in the $182 billion budget for the next two years that the Texas House of Representatives, by a 142-2 vote, approved Friday afternoon, the same budget that the Senate unanimously approved the day before.

Sunday, May 31, 2009

Robert T. Garrett

Rep. Yvonne Davis, D-Dallas, blocked early consideration of Dallas Republican Rep. Dan Branch's tier one university bill. Davis objected to the process by which -- not the purpose of -- bonds for rebuilding Galveston's medical school were added to the bill.

House-Senate negotiators want to go "outside the bounds" and include authorization of $150 million of tuition revenue bonds for the University of Texas Medical Branch, which was battered by Hurricane Ike last summer.

Sunday, May 31, 2009

Christy Hoppe

AUSTIN – A new top 10 percent admissions rule for the University of Texas at Austin is on its way to the governor after a reluctant Senate sponsor literally held her nose and voted for the bill.

Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, accepted the bill that was completely reworked in the House. It provides that the UT-Austin campus can limit automatic admissions to 75 percent of the spots in its 2011 freshman class.

"I know this is a big disappointment to everybody, but that's life in the big city," Shapiro said.

Gov. Rick Perry has expressed support for limitations on the top-10 rule.

Posted on Saturday, May 31, 2009

Aman Batheja

AUSTIN — A Dallas state senator threatened a filibuster Sunday to kill a massive transportation bill before the 140-day biennial legislative session ends today.

Sen. John Carona, R-Dallas, alleged that key lawmakers worked behind his back to keep language for local-option elections for transportation funding out of the overall bill. He accused some colleagues of backstabbing, trickery and political cowardice.

"I feel very passionate about this," Carona said.

May 31, 2009

AUSTIN, Texas, May 31 (UPI) -- The Texas Legislature has voted to cut guaranteed state university admissions for students who graduate in the top 10 percent of their high school classes.

The decade-old program was designed to promote diversity on state college campuses but school officials pushed for cutting back on the number of guaranteed admissions because they said the program limited their ability to accept other students, The New York Times reported Saturday.

Last year, 81 percent of students admitted to the University of Texas, Austin, were let in under the 10 percent rule. The school had tried for

Article Launched: 05/31/2009

By Brandi Grissom

AUSTIN -- UTEP and six other universities would compete for state money to propel them to elite status under a bill that the Texas House and Senate approved Sunday and sent to Gov. Rick Perry's desk.

"This will change our state and make us competitive with states like California and New York," said state Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas, author of the bill.

The measure would establish criteria for schools to seek millions of dollars legislators plan to make available for seven institutions, including the University of Texas at El Paso, that want to be designated as national research schools.