The Texas Senate’s Higher Education Committee is poised to review a series of state funds dedicated to higher education as part of a series of interim charges released by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick late last week.
The committee will “Review the distribution methodology for the Permanent University Fund (PUF) and the Texas University Fund (TUF).” Patrick has specifically charged the committee with a “particular focus on how the fund is allocated between the flagship campuses and other system institutions.”
Texas’ Permanent University Fund was created as part of the constitution of 1876. It currently comprises over 2.1 million acres of land in far west Texas from which the fund earns income from a variety of sources, primarily oil and gas development. It is one of the largest higher educational endowment funds in the world.
Institutions in the University of Texas System and the Texas A&M System are eligible for PUF funding on a two-thirds/one-third basis, respectively.
The Texas University Fund was established by a 2023 constitutional amendment and provides supplemental funding to institutions that are not eligible for the PUF.
Interim charges for the Texas House do not include any items related to the PUF or TUF.
The Senate Higher Education committee has not yet announced any interim hearings.
