Proposed bills to affect students

The Texas Legislature is considering several bills that concern college students. The following are updates on two of the bills that Accent has been following.

House  & Senate Bill 1

The state's current budget shortfall is estimated at $27 billion over the next two fiscal years. One of the main issues looming over the Texas House of Representatives and Senate includes education cuts in the proposed HB 1 at 18 percent and 9 percent with the SB  1.

HB 1 could mean a total of $8 billion in educational cuts while SB1 proposes cuts of $4 billion.

In response to the cuts, Austin Community College's board of trustees has approved to raise tuition by $5 per credit hour beginning during the Summer 2011 semester.

The board is also considering more tuition increases in the future, including an increase of $5 per credit hour for the fall 2011 semester and another increase of $5 per credit hour for the spring 2012 semester, according to a memorandum to faculty and staff written by ACC President/CEO Stephen Kinslow.

Under the board's proposal, student tuition would increase $15 per credit hour in under one year from now.

The board will vote on these proposals at future meetings this summer and fall.

   Guns on Campus

Senate Bill 354, introduced by Senator Jeff Wentworth (R-San Antonio) stalled once it was introduced in the Senate last month.

On April 27 Wentworth tried to tack on SB 354 as an amendment to Senator Judith Zaffirini's (D-Laredo) education bill that she said would reduce reporting requirements for universities and help drive down tuition rates.

Zafrini was disappointed with Wentworth's amendment.

"If she considers that amendment so onerous that she wants to kill her bill, that is her decision — not mine," Wentworth said in a Texas Tribune article.