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ARCHIVE
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Issue 7
April 27, 2007
Vol. 1
Issue 7
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Issue 6
April 20, 2007
Vol. 1
Issue 6
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Issue 5
April 13, 2007
Vol. 1
Issue 5
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Issue 4
April 5, 2007
Vol. 1
Issue 4
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Issue 3
March 30, 2007
Vol. 1
Issue 3
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Issue 2
March 23, 2007
Vol. 1
Issue 2
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Issue 1
March 9, 2007
Vol. 2007
Issue 1
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This Week In Austin...
We continue to work diligently on DCCCD’s legislative efforts as we reach the final weeks of the session. The pace continues to accelerate as legislators work to complete their efforts.
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Appropriations
 The Conference Committee began meeting in small, informal groups this week. Sen. Robert Duncan (Lubbock) and Rep. Lois Kolkhorst (Brenham) are the members who have been assigned the task of working on education funding. A great deal of work must be completed before the state’s budget is finalized. The Committee’s final determination on group health insurance and some nursing initiatives are critically important to DCCCD, and we will continue to monitor the progress of these discussions.
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Committee Meetings
On Monday, the House Higher Education Committee heard HB 1249, which is related to the eligibility of TEXAS grants for transfer students; it was left pending in committee. [Read the bill] 
Also on Monday, the Senate Subcommittee on Higher Education once again discussed SB 1029, which relates to performance incentive funding for institutions of higher education. The bill, which is part of Gov. Perry’s Higher Education Plan, again was left in committee. [Read the bill]
SB 49, one of the “tax-free” textbook bills, was heard by the Senate Finance Committee earlier this week; it has generated a great deal of interest recently. The bill would specify a period of time during which students could buy textbooks tax-free. [Read the bill]
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Legislation
Legislators have begun to prioritize the bills that will move forward and survive this session. Nearly 800 bills have made it through committee and are awaiting full action by the House. The Senate remains equally busy.
In response to some of the recent issues that have focused on student aid lenders and college officials, three related bills were filed in the Senate this week. The bills would prohibit financial aid employees at colleges from: accepting gifts from lenders or owning stock in their companies; and from serving on advisory boards. Additionally, some of the bills would prevent colleges from receiving a percentage of the money that lenders make on student loans. These bills – SB 2047, 2048 and 2049 – should be addressed in the Senate  Subcommittee on Higher Education within the next week or two.
Following are several bills of particular interest to DCCCD:
This week, SB 1052 – which would provide financial incentives for students who complete core curriculum requirements at community colleges to transfer to four-year institutions – was passed by the Senate; it now moves to the House for consideration. [Read the bill]
SB 114 is another textbook-related bill that DCCCD staff members have tried to improve. The bill passed the Senate last week and now awaits further action by the House Higher Education Committee. [Read the bill]
SB 1064, the community college purchasing bill which was passed by the Senate, continues to wait for action by the House Higher Education Committee.
We continue to track and analyze proposed bills that may affect the Dallas County Community College District. You can see the updated tracking list and bill status on the DCCCD website.
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