AUSTIN Lawmakers stepped closer to creating a major university and medical school in South Texas, with proponents saying the institutions would not take money from other Texas universities that might share a funding source. <\/p>\n
The House Higher Education Committee held the first hearing on House Bill 1000, legislation that would create the school within the University of Texas system. <\/p>\n
Were on the precipice of what could be one of the most significant developments in South Texas, said state Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, an author of the bill. <\/p>\n
More than a dozen state representatives and senators have joined to author bills in the Texas House and Senate to make a new University of Texas System university with a medical school. <\/p>\n
Texas Gov. Rick Perry called for a new university in South Texas that would have access to the Permanent University Fund, a source of money reserved only for University of Texas and Texas A&M systems. <\/p>\n
The bill enjoys broad support from lawmakers both Democratic and Republican. <\/p>\n
State Rep. Ren Oliveira, D-Brownsville, is the primary House author, and he said he expects the bill will sail through, but he noted the two-thirds vote necessary to approve Permanent University Fund money may not be an easy task. <\/p>\n
The university would have campuses at UT-Pan American and UT-Brownsville, which havent been eligible for the university funds. <\/p>\n
Brownsville is near the Rio Grande estuary in far south Texas, and UT-Pan American is in Edinburg, about 65 miles upriver from Brownsville and adjacent to McAllen. <\/p>\n
Oliveira said the new university wouldnt take funds from the other schools benefiting from the PUF. <\/p>\n
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South Texas medical school closer to possibility<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" AUSTIN Lawmakers stepped closer to creating a major university and medical school in South Texas, with proponents saying the institutions would not take money from other Texas universities that might share a funding source. The House Higher Education Committee held the first hearing on House Bill 1000, legislation that would create the school within the University of Texas system Continue reading