The Texas legislature passed a bill authorizing more than USD 3.3 billion in revenue bonds for dozens of construction and repair projects at public colleges and health facilities around the state during its third special session this year.

Senate Bill 52 is presently on Governor Greg Abbott's desk awaiting his signature. At the request of Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, Abbott changed the special session's agenda last week to include "legislation to improve higher education," allowing lawmakers to address the matter.

Legislators can't enact new legislation that the governor hasn't put on the agenda during a special session.

After the House inserted more than USD 200 million in extra projects in its version, the final bill's overall cost jumped from the Senate's initial version of about USD 3 billion.

The bill was quickly enacted by both chambers and received widespread bipartisan support. The law passed with a 131-8 vote in the House and a 30-1 vote in the Senate.

The final agreement was obtained thanks to a compromise struck by the conference committee, which redistributed some of the funds. At the conclusion of the day, public institutions in each of the state's regions received a portion of the funds.

The bill also renames "tuition revenue bonds" to "capital construction assistance" projects. As a result of the move, the amounts borrowed for the projects will eventually be paid by public funds.

Universities must submit their construction contracts to the Legislative Budget Board under the terms of the bill. It also creates a Capital Project Oversight Commission, which will allow the legislature to have more control over how the money is used.

The bill's sponsor, Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, was quoted saying, "This legislation will forever change and reform the way we consider capital projects in the future."

Supporters of the bill cited an increase of nearly 8% in higher education enrollment in the state since 2015, when the legislature adopted a law authorizing tuition revenue bonds to pay for capital expenditures and development.

The following are the conference committee allocations for the various public institutions:

• Texas A & M System - USD727.4m

• University of Texas System – USD 854.2m

• University of Houston System – USD 339.5m

• Texas State University System – USD  422.6m

• University. of North Texas System – USD 273.3m

• Texas Womans’ University – USD 100m

• Stephen F. Austin University – USD 44.9m

• Texas Tech University – USD 299.4m

• Texas Southern University – USD 95.2m

• Texas State Technical System – USD  208.5m

The University of Texas System, which has over 240,000 students enrolled, will receive USD 56 million to renovate the Microelectronics Research Center at the J.J. Pickle Research Campus and an equal amount to update the Physics, Math, and Astronomy Building on UT's main campus in Austin, among the dozens of projects.

The University of Texas Health Science Texas Health Science Center at Houston has been given USD 69.9 million to build a public health education and research building, while the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio has been given USD 59.9 million to build the Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases Building.

The Texas A&M University System, which enrolls about 150,000 students at its various campuses, was given USD 56,1 million for the construction of a clinical veterinary teaching and research complex; USD 33.7 million for a new engineering classroom and research building at its Galveston campus; and USD 44.9 million each for new health or academic buildings in San Antonio, Commerce, Corpus Christi, Texarkana, and Laredo.

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