Sec. 54.513. STUDENT SERVICE FEES; THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN. (a) In this section:

(1) "student services" includes textbook rentals; recreational activities; health, hospital, and other medical services; group hospitalization; automobile parking privileges; intramural and intercollegiate athletics; artists and lecture series and other cultural entertainment; debating and oratorical activities; student publications; student government; student fees advisory committee; student transportation services; and any other student activities and services specifically authorized and approved by the board; the term does not include services for which a fee may be charged under the specific authority of any other section of this code;

(2) "compulsory fee" means a fee that is charged to all students enrolled in the university; and

(3) "voluntary fee" means a fee that is charged only to those students who make use of the student service for which the fee is established.

(b) Subject to Section 54.514 of this subchapter and subsections (j) and (k) of this section, the board of regents of The University of Texas System may charge and collect from students registered at The University of Texas at Austin fees to cover the cost of student services that the board considers necessary or desirable in carrying out the educational functions of the university.

(c) The board may make fees for a particular student service voluntary or compulsory.

(d) Except for fees allocated for hospital and health services, any compulsory fees for student services charged under this section shall be assessed in proportion to the number of semester credit hours for which a student registers.

(e) No portion of the compulsory fees collected may be expended for parking services or facilities except as related to providing shuttle bus services.

(f) Money collected as fees for student services shall be:

(1) reserved and accounted for in an account kept separate from educational and general funds of the university;

(2) used only for the support of student services;

(3) used only after the compulsory fees to be included in the student service fees budget have been considered as provided by Section 54.514 of this subchapter; and

(4) placed in a depository bank designated by the board and secured as provided by law.

(g) Each year the board shall approve for the university a separate budget for student activities and services financed by fees authorized by this section. The budget must show the fees to be assessed, the purpose for which the fees will be used or the functions to be financed, the estimated income to be derived, and the proposed expenditures to be made. Copies of the budget shall be filed annually with the coordinating board, the governor, the Legislative Budget Board, and the state library.

(h) If payment of any compulsory fees authorized by this section would cause an undue financial hardship on a student, the board may waive all or part of the compulsory fees for that student. The number of students granted a waiver under this subsection may not exceed 10 percent of the total enrollment of the university. The board may limit the participation of a student in the activities financed by the fees waived in proportion to the extent of the waiver.

(i) If the total compulsory fee charged under this section is more than $150, the increase does not take effect unless the increase is approved by a majority vote of the students voting in an election held for that purpose or by a majority vote of the duly elected student government. In subsequent years, an election authorizing a fee increase must be held before the fee can be increased by more than 10 percent of the fee approved at the last student election.

(j) The total of all compulsory fees charged under this section to students for any semester or summer session may not exceed $250.

(k) General revenue funds appropriated for the element of cost "physical plant operation or maintenance" may be used to support the services and activities provided for in this section:

(1) if the service or activity supported from the fees is not intercollegiate athletics or is not also appropriately classified as any other auxiliary enterprise that charges a fee directly related to the cost of the service under the criteria outlined in College and University Business Administration, Fourth Edition (1982), published by the National Association of College and University Business Officers; or

(2) when the service or activity takes place in or on a facility the substantial use of which has been dedicated by the board for educational and general activities.

(l) This section does not affect any special fees, including building use fees, that the legislature has authorized to finance revenue bond issues or any other fees specifically authorized by law.

Added by Acts 1983, 68th Leg., p. 2055, ch. 378, Sec. 1. Renumbered from Education Code Sec. 67.211 and amended by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 901, Sec. 15, eff. Aug. 31, 1987. Amended by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 584, Sec. 107, eff. Sept. 1, 1989; Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 910, Sec. 7; Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 879, Sec. 2, eff. June 14, 2001.