Reigning in tuition costs is a high priority among many Texas senators as they prepare for the 81st Texas legislative session, which begins Jan. 13. Legislation to repeal tuition deregulation has been proposed at every session since it was passed in 2003, but this time Texas senators said they expect widespread support for a bill that, if passed, would lock in tuition rates for two years.
Since deregulation, tuition shot up 67 percent at UH and an average of 53 percent statewide, according to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. These increases are much more than the Legislature anticipated when it deregulated tuition, Sen. Juan Hinojosa, D-McAllen, said.
"It is the responsibility of the Texas legislature to fund higher education adequately," he said. "By deregulating tuition, all we did was place a backdoor tax on college students."
Hinojosa filed a bill, SB105, on Oct. 10 along with eight bipartisan coauthors that would freeze tuition for two years and cap subsequent increases by inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index.
"We are trying to find a way to slow down the high increases in tuition that’s really pricing out a lot of middle class families from getting their college education," Hinojosa said.
The bill’s coauthors include Sen. Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands, and Sen. Mario Gallegos Jr., D-Houston.Williams has repeatedly called his vote for deregulation in 2003 "the worst vote he’s ever made in the Legislature," a Williams spokesperson said.
Gallegos said making higher education affordable will gain broad support this legislative session.
"As more Texans continue their education and feel the costs of rising tuitions, more legislators will hear from their constituents," Gallegos said.
Other senators have offered a different approach to reigning in tuition costs. Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, authored a bill that would require legislative approval for tuition increases and Sen. Leticia Van de Putte’s, D-San Antonio, bill would cap annual tuition and fee increases at 5 percent.
"One of the main reasons colleges and universities have increased tuition astronomically is because the state hasn’t invested enough in higher education," said Ellis, who said his bill is merely a starting point for regulating tuition rates. "In the current economic climate, with tuition skyrocketing and the credit market shrinking for students who need loans, SB 104 should have the full support of the Texas Legislature."
Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Harris County, has battled to increase state funding for higher education and place limits on tuition in every legislative session since in 2003 when deregulation was first proposed. Coleman’s more drastic approach would not only repeal deregulation, but also roll back tuition cost.
When deregulation was introduced, he said he knew tuition would soon skyrocket.
"How could they not see it?" he said. "The cuts in higher education that year alone were close to $300 million."
To properly fund universities, Texas – with more than an $11 billion surplus going into its 81st session – wouldn’t have to raise taxes because the money is already there, he said.
"The legislature should be held accountable for funding the University of Houston or any other university and making sure that funding is aggressive for quality education," Coleman said.
UH System Board of Regents Chairman Welcome Wilson said a freeze on tuition rates would not affect UH efforts for flagship status.
"We will not be, under any circumstance, using money funded by state or by tuition to reach ‘Tier-1’ status," Wilson said.
The UH System would instead seek separate funds for the cost of continuing and expanding research, Wilson said.
"The presumption in the freeze on tuition is that the state will fund directly the funds needed for the universities to keep their programs intact," he said. "Based on that premise, a freeze in tuition would not affect us."
High tuition hits middle-class families the hardest, Hinojosa said.
"People who are wealthy don’t need help," Hinojosa said. "The people who are poor get the bulk of the financial assistance, but the middle-class families don’t qualify, and they are going to pay full price."
