19 TAC §17.46
The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board adopts amendments
to Chapter 17, Subchapter B, §17.46 concerning Application for Approval
of New Construction and Major Repair and Rehabilitation (Special Approval
Procedures) with changes to the proposed text as published in the December
4, 1998, issue of the
Texas Register
(23 TexReg
12074). The amendments will establish processes by which the Coordinating
Board's responsibilities for approval of construction projects and land acquisitions
might be implemented. The amendments to the rules revise existing rules in
such a way as to delegate additional responsibility to the Board's Campus
Planning Committee and the Commissioner. The amendments to the rules are intended
to allow the Board to restructure their meetings to spend less time on routine,
operational issues and more time on long-range policy issues.
Comments were received from administrators at Texas public universities
and health- related institutions and from Coordinating Board members. Comments
from administrators were uniformly supportive but suggested a number of minor
modifications to the rules as proposed. These suggested modifications related
to lowering some specific thresholds that would be used to authorize action
by the Commissioner, clarifying the rules to specifically indicate that the
Commissioner could both approve and disapprove specific requests and that
institutions could appeal decisions to the full Board, and requiring reports
of both approvals and disapprovals. The Board formed a working group to review
the suggested changes and agreed that the rules should be revised to include
these changes.
The amendments to the rules are adopted under Texas Education
Code, Section 61.058 which provides the Texas Higher Education Coordinating
Board with the authority to adopt rules concerning Application for Approval
of New Construction and Major Repair and Rehabilitation (Special Approval
Procedures).
§17.46. Special Approval Procedure.
(a)
The Coordinating Board authorizes the Campus Planning
Committee to review and approve the following types of projects:
(1)
gifts, purchase or acquisition of real property having
a value of $300,000 to $5 million;
(2)
construction of new educational and general space
having a value of $1 million to $5 million;
(3)
major repair and rehabilitation of educational and
general space for projects having a cost of over $5 million; and
(4)
auxiliary enterprise projects costing between $10
million and $20 million.
(b)
The Campus Planning Committee shall be guided in its decision
in part by its judgment as to whether or not the full Board would approve
the project, were the request being brought to the Board at this time. The
committee may approve a request, or refer the request to the next meeting
of the Board. Moreover, any Board Member can request that a particular project
under consideration by the Campus Planning Committee be referred to the full
Board for consideration. The committee shall report all actions to the Board
at its next meeting.
(c)
The Coordinating Board authorizes the Commissioner to
review and approve the following types of projects on certification by the
proposing institution's governing board that Coordinating Board-approved criteria
are met:
(1)
auxiliary enterprise projects being acquired, constructed
or renovated without the use of state general revenue funds and with a total
projected cost of less than $10 million;
(2)
major repair and rehabilitation of existing education
and general buildings that will not add educational and general space with
a total projected project cost of less than $5 million;
(3)
gifts, purchase or acquisition of real property having
a value of $300,000 or less; and
(4)
construction of new educational and general space
having a value of $1 million or less.
(d)
The Commissioner shall be guided in making a decision
in part by his or her judgment as to whether or not the full Board would approve
the project, were the request being brought to the Board. The Commissioner
may approve or disapprove a request or refer the request to a subsequent meeting
of the Campus Planning Committee or the Board. Institutions may appeal the
Commissioner's decision to the Board. Each quarter, the Commissioner shall
send a list of all actions to the Board. The list of all actions shall be
attached as an addendum to the minutes of the Board's next quarterly meeting.
This agency hereby certifies that the adoption has been reviewed
by legal counsel and found to be a valid exercise of the agency's legal authority.
Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State on February
4, 1999.
TRD-9900751
James McWhorter
Assistant Commissioner for Administration
Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
Effective date: February 24, 1999
Proposal publication date: December 4, 1998
For further information, please call: (512) 483-6162