 "Photo: Jessica Talley")
More than 20 student leaders from universities across Texas support a student regent bill despite a committee substitution that would take away students' voting power if appointed to a university's board of regents.
They say the amended bill has a better chance of passing than previous bills.
House Bill 1968, left pending in the House on Monday, was filed by state Rep. Patrick Rose, D-San Marcos, in late March. The bill originally called for a change in the Texas Constitution to allow a student appointed by the governor to serve one year as a voting member on their university's board of regents.
Rose and other supporters have said a student regent would give a voice to students in decisions that would directly affect them, such as tuition increases.
However, on Monday Rose presented a substitution to the bill that would take away the student regents' power to vote.
Rose said the governor's office and some of his colleagues have been "very hesitant" about having a voting student regent, but with changes under the substitution, Rose said, "I think we have a shot."
Historically in Texas, student regent bills have not passed final legislation. Thirty-nine states currently have students serving as regents, 29 of which are voting members.
Rose said the amended bill has support from everyone on the House Higher Education Committee, whereas the original bill did not.
He said a non-voting student regent is not perfect, but it is "a step in the right direction."
Former Student Government President Brent Chaney said there was "strong opposition" from the governor's office toward having a voting student regent.
"A regent position is one of the most highly coveted appointment, probably the most coveted, that the governor makes. It became fairly clear from the governor's office that the governor would like to keep it the same [as] it's been done in the past," Chaney said.
Gov. Rick Perry's office could not be reached for comment.
Under Rose's bill, each university's student government would select five candidates to submit to the system's chancellor. The names and university of the candidates would be removed to prevent biases, and the chancellor would then select no fewer than two candidates to submit to the governor, who would make the final decision.
"It's not what we originally wanted, but it's something, and it's more than we have right now," Chaney said. "But you know when your bill is going to pass, and at some point you have to reach a compromise beyond what you wanted and what is right."
Currently, there are three student regent bills filed in the Texas Legislature.
State Sen. Jeff Wentworth's, R-San Antonio, Senate Bill 934 was identical to Rose's bill prior to the amendments. Wentworth, who previously served a year on the Texas State University System Board of Regents, said he would prefer a voting student regent, but will support the amendments to the bill because it is an improvement to the current system.
State Sen. Elliot Shapleigh, D-El Paso, also filed a student regent bill that would allow a student to serve two years on the board, with the first year serving as a designate member and the second year as a voting member. Shapleigh could not be reached for comment on whether or not he planned to change his bill.
SG President Omar Ochoa said it's a "worthy compromise."
"At least this gives us a chance to get a student's voice," Ochoa said. "It's much more important than actually getting the vote."
Only one student testified against the bill.
Chris Diem, executive vice president of Texas A&M Student Government Association, said he is concerned about the logistics of the bill because it said that students from the same university campus cannot serve back-to-back.
The bill will be addressed at the next committee meeting, which has not yet been announced.
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