AUSTIN — Hit with middle-class concerns about the rising costs of a college education, Texas lawmakers soon will consider legislation that would temporarily freeze tuition at state universities. But higher education leaders are warning the move could blow a hole in their budgets and lower the value of a Texas diploma.

Six years ago, facing a $10 billion budget shortfall, the Legislature gave universities broad latitude in setting tuition rates. That helped spark a steady climb in college costs — including a 53 percent rise for tuition and fees at state universities, state figures show.

"We're really pricing out a lot of students from college education," said Sen. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, D-McAllen, who has filed a bill that would put a two-year moratorium on tuition hikes at public universities. "There is a lot more pressure building ... to try to find a way to rein in the high costs of a college education."

Hinojosa's Senate Bill 105 has drawn eight co-sponsors in the 31-member Senate, including four senators who voted in favor of the 2003 legislation that triggered the increases. Besides the two-year tuition moratorium, the bill would peg future increases to the cost of living and require that most fee hikes be approved by a majority of students.

While the idea of college affordability has broad appeal among lawmakers, some warn it could spark potentially devastating cuts at universities and reduce the value of a degree from Texas public colleges. Rep. Geanie Morrison, R-Victoria, sponsored the 2003 legislation that allowed universities to set their own tuition rates. She said it would be a mistake to force tuition lower over time without offsetting the losses in revenue.

"It's very easy to say we want to lower what the tuition is," said Morrison, who has served as the chair of the House higher education committee in recent years. "But where is the money going to come from that's going to take its place?" She said increasing grants and other college aid programs is a better way to help students get a Texas diploma.

The University of Texas at Austin alone needs $50 million a year just to keep up with growth and inflation, according to UT President William Powers. He said freezing tuition without a corresponding increase in state funding could blow a hole in the flagship school's budget.

"If there were a freeze and not offsetting legislative support, it would have very serious consequences in the quality of education — not just at UT Austin, but everywhere," Powers said.

Higher education leaders say a college education in Texas is still a bargain compared to schools elsewhere. Smart Money magazine, for example, recently ranked Texas A&M University and UT as No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in the financial return students can expect to receive from their education.

According to the College Board, which compiles higher education data, Texas was ranked 13th in the nation in the percentage increase in tuition and fees at public colleges and universities since 2004. The state was ranked 19th overall in the yearly cost of tuition and mandatory fees, averaging about $6,900. That compared to about $11,300 in Vermont.

Education spending currently consumes 44 percent of the Texas state budget, but only about a quarter of that — around $10 billion a year — is related to higher education. What lawmakers have not yet explained is how they'll come up with the dollars to replace what a tuition moratorium would take away.

Though Texas technically has a budget surplus, the fiscal picture has worsened in recent months amid unanticipated costs related to Hurricane Ike and health care spending pressures. The state is also facing lower tax revenues due to declining oil prices and lower-than-projected revenues from sales and business taxes.

Hinojosa said the Legislature should find a way to makeup for revenue lost because of a tuition freeze.

"The state needs to pick up its share of the cost. It is a tremendous benefit to the state," he said. "An educated population helps the economy. It's a quality of life issue and it's a competitive issue."