The University of Houston board may levy a student union fee, but only within stated caps and for specified student-union purposes.
Sec. 54.526. STUDENT FEES FOR UNIVERSITY CENTERS; THE UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON. (a) The board of regents of the University of Houston System may levy a student union fee, not to exceed $150 per student for each regular semester and not to exceed $75 per student for each term of the summer session. The sole purpose of the fee is financing, constructing, operating, maintaining, improving, and providing programming at a Student Union Building for the University of Houston. The fees herein authorized to be levied are in addition to any use or service fee now or hereafter authorized to be levied. (b) Such fees shall be deposited to an account known as "The University of Houston Center Fee Account" and shall be placed under the control of and subject to the order of the student fees advisory committee established under Section 54.5062. The committee shall annually submit to the president of the University of Houston a complete and itemized budget to be accompanied by a full and complete report of all activities conducted during the past year and all expenditures made incident thereto. The board of regents shall make such changes in the budget as it deems necessary before approving the budget. The board shall then levy the fees, within the limits herein fixed, in such amounts as will be sufficient to meet the budgetary needs of the University Center Building. An increase in the fee from one academic year to the next must be approved by a majority vote of the students voting in an election called for that purpose or by a majority vote of the student government. Expenditures from "The University of Houston Center Fee Account" shall be made solely for the purposes set forth in this section, and in compliance with the budget approved by the board of regents. (c) The fee may not be charged after the fifth academic year in which the fee is first charged unless, before the end of that academic year, the university has issued bonds payable in whole or in part from the fee, in which event the fee may not be charged after the academic year in which all such bonds, including refunding bonds for those bonds, have been fully paid. Added by Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 1473, ch. 597, Sec. 1, eff. Aug. 29, 1977. Renumbered from Education Code Sec. 111.42 and amended by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 901, Sec. 28, eff. Aug. 31, 1987. Amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 105, Sec. 2, eff. Aug. 26, 1991; Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 73, Sec. 1, eff. May 11, 1995. Amended by: Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 915 (H.B. 2961), Sec. 1, eff. June 19, 2009. Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 368 (S.B. 480), Sec. 1, eff. June 7, 2021.