Sec. 54.514.  STUDENT FEES ADVISORY COMMITTEE;  THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN.  (a)  The student fees advisory committee is established to advise the administration of The University of Texas at Austin on the type, level, and expenditure of compulsory fees for student services collected at the university under Section 54.513 of this subchapter.  The administration may also ask the student fees advisory committee to advise the administration of the university on the type, level, and expenditure of voluntary fees for student services collected at the university under Section 54.513 of this subchapter.  The committee is composed of nine members.
(b)  Five of the members of the student fees advisory committee must be student members.  The student members must be students who are enrolled in not less than six semester hours at the university and who are generally representative of the student body.  If a student government exists, the student members shall be selected by the student government of the university.  The student members shall be selected and designated as appropriate so that three student members on the committee are serving terms of two years, and two student members are serving terms of one year.  If a student government does not exist, the students shall be elected by the students enrolled in the university voting in an election held for that purpose.  At each election, the appropriate number of students shall be elected for terms of appropriate length so that three student members on the committee are serving terms of two years, and two student members are serving terms of one year.  At an election at which three students are being elected for terms of two years and two students are being elected for terms of one year, each candidate must file for a one-year or two-year position.
(c)  The four remaining members of the student fees advisory committee shall be appointed by the president of the university and shall be generally representative of the total university community.  Each nonstudent member of the committee serves for a term of one year but may be reappointed.
(d)  A student member who ceases to be a student may not continue to hold a student membership position.  If a student vacancy occurs, the student government shall appoint a new member to serve for the remainder of the unexpired term.  In the absence of student government or if the vacancy is in a nonstudent position, the president of the university shall appoint a new member to serve for the remainder of the unexpired term.
(e)  The committee shall conduct appropriate inquiry into the type, level, and expenditure of any compulsory fees to be charged under Section 54.513 of this subchapter and on the expenditure of money generated from those fees.  Following the committee's inquiries, the committee and the appropriate members of the university administration shall meet, and at the meeting the committee shall submit to the administration a statement recommending the type, level, and expenditure of compulsory fees to be charged to students in the academic year beginning with the following fall semester.
(f)  The president shall duly consider the recommendations of the student fees advisory committee in his recommendations to the board of regents of The University of Texas System which recommendations shall be submitted to the board during the annual budgetary process.  If the president's recommendations to be made to the board are substantially different from those of the student fees advisory committee to the administration, the administration shall so notify the student fees advisory committee in sufficient time for the committee to request time for an appearance on the regents' agenda for the meeting at which the board will consider the president's recommendations.  The administration shall provide to a student member designated by the student members of the committee, upon that student member's request, the most recent and complete recommendations of the president to the board.
(g)  In addition to selecting the student members of the student fees advisory committee, the student government, if one exists, is entitled to select the student members of the university parking and traffic policies committee established by the president of the university.  The university parking and traffic policies committee shall provide copies of any recommendations it makes concerning the setting of student parking fees to the student fees advisory committee.  The student fees advisory committee may make such comments and recommendations to the administration on the recommendations of the university parking and traffic policies committee as it may wish.
Added by Acts 1983, 68th Leg., p. 2055, ch. 378, Sec. 1.  Renumbered from Education Code Sec. 67.212 and amended by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 901, Sec. 16, eff. Aug. 31, 1987.