Senator Eliot Shapleigh - El Paso, Texas

A major effort is under way in the Texas Legislature to take back some of the tuition-setting authority that lawmakers granted six years ago to public university governing boards.

About a dozen measures that would freeze tuition, limit increases or otherwise restrain boards of regents have been proposed. Gov. Rick Perry and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, both of whom supported the so-called deregulation of tuition in 2003 , have expressed support for some sort of cap or freeze.

The push is partly a response to the economic downturn, which has left families worried about paying for college. In addition, Republican state Rep. Tom Craddick, who as speaker of the House was a supporter of keeping tuition under regents' control, no longer leads that chamber, and many House members now feel freer to seek a change. Craddick's successor, Rep. Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, has not signaled a position on the matter.

Exactly what might emerge from the legislative session is unclear at this point.

"So far, with no hearings conducted on the bills, it's kind of hard to tell if there's an emerging consensus," said Barry McBee , vice chancellor for governmental relations for the University of Texas System. During the 2003 session, the UT System, under the leadership of then-Chancellor Mark Yudof, was instrumental in securing tuition-setting authority for regents.

The proposals come in various flavors, including a freeze at current rates, a four-year freeze for entering freshmen, a temporary moratorium on increases and a 5 percent annual cap on increases. One measure, filed by Sen. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, D-McAllen, with 21 co-sponsors, would impose a two-year moratorium on tuition increases and limit increases thereafter to the rate of inflation as determined by the Consumer Price Index.

Tuition and fees at the state's 35 public universities have gone up 86 percent since 2003, when the Legislature granted power to regents, according to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Charges rose 75 percent from 1997 to 2003, in part because many universities raised fees during years when lawmakers did not increase tuition much.

A growing number of lawmakers say that it would be a mistake for the Legislature to focus solely on tuition without taking legislative appropriations for higher education into account.

"The reason tuition has changed as much as it has is that the Legislature has not funded higher education adequately," said Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, who leads the Senate Higher Education Committee. "The higher the level of state funding, the lesser the need to raise tuition and fees."

She said deregulation passed in 2003 because lawmakers, facing a multibillion-dollar shortfall in the state budget, were unwilling to increase funding for higher education and decided to let regents raise revenue by boosting tuition. Although appropriations have risen since then, the pace has not kept up with increasing enrollment and inflation, Zaffirini said.

She said she plans to file a measure that would seek to ensure more generous appropriations while limiting tuition increases. She said her committee would hold a marathon day of hearings to consider the various tuition-control measures.

The chairman of the House Higher Education Committee is also eager to craft a broad approach that takes more than tuition into account. Appropriations and financial aid should be part of the mix, said Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas.

Moreover, Branch said, with the economies of California and some other states in dire straits, this might be a good time for Texas to seize a competitive advantage and undertake construction projects on college campuses by drawing on federal economic stimulus money and the state's rainy day fund.

Rep. Patrick Rose, D-Dripping Springs, filed a measure Friday that would limit increases of tuition and fees to no more than what would be needed to achieve a 6 percent annual rise in the combination of those charges and legislative appropriations.

Rose said that would put pressure on lawmakers to raise appropriations because their failure to do so could trigger larger tuition increases.

"We can't continue to sustain the kind of tuition increases we've seen," he said.

Some higher education leaders said they are pleased that the link between tuition and appropriations of general revenue is being acknowledged.

"What we worry about are bills that would cap tuition completely but also not fund this institution or any other institution with any increase in general revenue," said Kevin Hegarty , vice president and chief financial officer for UT-Austin.

Opinions among students on controlling tuition vary widely. Last month, UT's Student Government, the official voice of students on the Austin campus, called for preserving the regents' authority, said Keshav Rajagopalan , the group's president.

In a statement, the Student Government said, "The issue at hand should not be about the regulation of tuition but rather about the funding of higher education and the funding of state financial aid programs."