Not more than an hour ago, Senator Ellis successful passed an amendment onto House Bill 3851 that contained the language from the TSU bill Senator Ellis and I have worked so hard on over the past weeks. The amendment would apply strictly to institutions of higher education, and not any other state agency.

 

Now that the bill with the TSU amendment has passed the Senate, it will come back to the House, where the House may either agree or disagree with the Senate amendments. The following would then happen:

 

·        If the House agrees, the bill goes to the governor to be signed into law.

·        If the House disagrees, the bill would go to a conference committee for final negotiations and changes.

 

Due to a House rule that says we must wait 24 hours for any action to be taken on Senate amendments to a House bill, the House will most likely decide whether or not to agree or disagree with the TSU amendment on Friday.

 

There is discussion that some House lawmakers may try to kill the bill that contains the TSU amendment because they don't want any legislation regarding TSU passed this session. I sincerely hope that is not the case, and that we are able to move forward with legislation that guarantees TSU will not be placed under conservatorship and that TSU remains a strong, independent university.

 

As soon as the House takes any action on the bill, I will update you to let you know what happens.