With only 15 days left in the session, the conference committee on the appropriations bill continues to meet, the Senate has not yet debated a redistricting bill and several significant sunset bills have yet to pass. Late Friday it was believed that the conference committee will meet at 8:00 am on Saturday to consider higher education issues.
Earlier last week, the Senate Finance Committee considered HB 1839, the excellence bill, and voted to substitute the language from SB 737. During that hearing, Senator Ellis said that the bill would go to a conference committee because he did not like the house version. The House version sets up a fund for PUF schools and requires $34 million appropriation. The Senate version uses existing appropriations to fund the PUF schools.
HB 658, authorizing the issuance of tuition revenue bonds, has been reported from Senate Finance. Although provisions for UH System schools are identical, there are some differences in the House and Senate versions so the bill will most likely to go to a conference committee once it passes the Senate early next week.
Midnight Friday was the deadline for reporting bills from Senate committees. The House met until 3:00 a.m. Friday morning to give its members an opportunity to get bills to the Senate and beat the deadline. Virtually every Senate committee met continuously Friday to report bills.
Remember to watch Capitol Report on KUHT Sundays at 3 p.m. after it resumes airing the first week of April.
Guidelines for Contacting Legislators
It's important that legislators hear from faculty, staff, alumni, and friends of the UH System. But if you are a member of the faculty or staff (a state employee) wishing to contact your legislator, it's equally important to follow certain guidelines when you write or fax letters. Go to <http://www.uhsa.uh.edu/gov/process/letter_writing.html>. for letter-writing guidelines.
For information on governmental relations policies, go to <http://www.uhsa.uh.edu/gov/policies/lobbying.html>.
To find the names and addresses of U.S. Senators and Congressmen/women, go to <http://www.usfronline.com/congress.htm>
To find the names and addresses of Texas Senators and Representatives, go to <http://www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/senate/members.htm>, or <http://www.house.state.tx.us/house/byzip.htm>.