Pair of passed bills would help Purdue tackle facility repair, maintenance

Senate Bill 345, which passed both houses unanimously and now awaits Gov. Mitch Daniels' signature, authorizes the state to make payments that were part of Purdue's general fund appropriation originally approved in the General Assembly's 2001 session. Officials were later forced to defer a portion of Purdue's scheduled 2002-03 fiscal year payment in an effort to reduce the state budget deficit, said Terry D. Strueh, Purdue's vice president for governmental relations.

The bill was authored by Sen. Robert L. Meeks, R-LaGrange, and was sponsored in the House by Rep. Jeff Espich, R-Uniondale.

"Sen. Meeks and Rep. Espich really stepped forward to help provide some of the funds that are vital to making headway on Purdue's accumulated repair and rehabilitation projects," Strueh said. "Legislators from both sides of the aisle, and especially our local legislative delegation, have been extremely supportive. This bill represents the second important piece of legislation passed this session that recognizes the significance of preserving our state's investment in higher education facilities."

In a news release issued after the Senate passed the bill by a 50-0 vote in February, Meeks said: "The state delayed payments to local governmental units and state higher education institutions, and it's time we start repaying our debts. Counties and schools statewide rely on these funds to maintain buildings and create new programs."

Also on Tuesday, lawmakers approved House Bill 1029, which would give Purdue the authority to issue bonds to raise money for repair and rehabilitation of campus facilities. The new law would allow Purdue to issue up to $60 million in bonds to begin to address deferred maintenance estimated at more than $400 million. The backlog built up during the past 10 years as the state was able to fund only a fraction of the repair and rehabilitation formula created to address ongoing maintenance needs, said Joseph L. Bennett, Purdue vice president for university relations.

"Purdue has a multifaceted strategy for addressing this critical problem," Bennett said. "The strategy includes a combination of reallocations of general funds; a special fee, which students will pay beginning with the class that enrolls in the fall of 2006; overhead from external grant funding; targeted private fund raising; and future state requests. The new bonding authority is an important step in Purdue's efforts to reverse a trend that has been a significant concern for the university and the state."

Source: Joseph L. Bennett, (765) 494-2082, jlbennett@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

To the News Service home page