Senator Eliot Shapleigh - El Paso, Texas

Gov. Rick Perry

AUSTIN -- Gov. Rick Perry on Tuesday called for a freeze on tuition rates at public universities during his fifth state of the state address.

"Let's work together to make college accessible and affordable for more qualified, motivated students than ever before," Perry said.

In his 48-minute speech, Perry also encouraged lawmakers, despite tough economic times and a tight budget, to stay the course with low-tax policies that have made Texas a top jobs creator.

The state of the state address, required by the Texas Constitution, is Perry's biggest stage of the 140-day legislative session and gives him a chance to set the tone with lawmakers and to outline his priorities.

Top among his priorities this year, he said, will be reining in tuition rates at public universities.

His proposal would lock in tuition rates for entering freshmen at public colleges.

"This will help Texas families plan while giving students another incentive to finish on time," Perry said.

Lawmakers gave universities authority to set their own tuition rates in 2003, when the state faced a $10 billion budget shortfall.

Since then, tuition rates for a full-time course load have shot up an average of 53 percent statewide, according to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. At the University of Texas at El Paso in the past five years, tuition and fees have risen 57 percent.

UTEP has offered students a guaranteed-tuition program for the past three or four years, said UTEP President Diana Natalicio. But not many students have signed up.

She called Perry's proposal interesting and said it wasn't a bad idea.

"Knowing what your tuition will be ahead of time is helpful," Natalicio said.

She worried, however, that if costs for the university rise dramatically, there could be significant increases in tuition from one class to the next as schools try to raise more money from a smaller pool of students.

Natalicio said she wasn't sure lawmakers needed to resume control of setting college tuition rates.

"I think we understand the importance of affordability," she said, "and we're trying really hard to provide both quality and affordability."

Writing the two-year state budget with $9 billion less than Texas lawmakers had in 2007, Perry said, would be the biggest challenge for legislators this year.

He called for restraint in spending and asked lawmakers to keep taxes and regulations low so that more businesses continue moving to Texas.

He also urged lawmakers to spend an additional $135 million on border security, including $32 million for an initiative to combat transnational gangs.

Perry said he supported a controversial GOP proposal to require voters to present photo identification at the ballot box. "A democracy without proper protections against voter fraud cannot preserve the public trust," he said.

State Rep. Chente Quintanilla, D-El Paso, said he supported freezing tuition but was otherwise unimpressed with Perry's remarks.

"His speech today was a campaign speech to run for governor and appease those conservative people that he is trying to get back in his groove," he said.

U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison plans to challenge Perry for the GOP gubernatorial nomination in 2010 in what could be the toughest political challenge the long-time governor has seen.

State Sen. Eliot Shapleigh, D-El Paso, said Perry's call to freeze tuition rates wouldn't work if state lawmakers don't put more money into public universities.

"Unless leaders will invest in our future with reliable funding streams, colleges will have to cut class times, reduce salaries, and can't meet the need," he said.

He also derided Perry's call for voter ID as a move to suppress Hispanic voters.

State Rep. Norma Chávez, D-El Paso, said she was encouraged by Perry's call to expand funding for work-force development. In 2007, he vetoed a Chávez bill that would have put $12 million into the Texas Workforce Commission's Skills Development Fund.

Freshman state Rep. Marisa Marquez, D-El Paso, said Perry presented a long to-do list that seemed largely lacking in substance.

"As far as implementation and how practical they are to our communities," she said, "that's something that needs be discussed in the House and Senate."