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DAN PATRICK: MAKING IT HARDER
FOR TEXANS TO ATTEND COLLEGE

Dan Patrick has worked tirelessly to make attending college more difficult for Texas
students. Whether its slashing higher education funding, opposing the bi-partisan Texas Dream
Act, or reducing opportunities for rural students, Texans cant trust Dan Patrick.

Slashed Higher Education Funding In 2011, And Opposed Restoring It
In 2013

Patrick Voted For The 2011 Budget Bill. In May of 2011, Patrick voted for HB 1, which cut
$969 billion to higher education. The bill was signed by the Governor. [Senate Journal: 82
nd

Legislature, 05/04/11, pg 4578, HB 1 Text From Conference Committee Report, 05/26/11]

2011 Budget Included a $969 Million Cut to Colleges and Universities, Which
Was Expected to Lead to Higher Tuition. In May 2014, CNN Money reported,
Crafted by the Republicans who run the Texas Legislature, the $172.3 billion budget
agreement does not raise taxes, nor does it dip into the state's rainy day fund to help
close the coming fiscal year's multi-billion dollar shortfall. Lawmakers are expected to
vote on the budget on Saturday. Higher education and health and human services took
the biggest hits. Colleges and universities will see a $969 million cut, which will likely lead
to higher tuition and curtailed programs, said F. Scott McCown, executive director of the
Center for Public Policy Priorities, which advocates for low-income residents. [CNN
Money, 5/26/11]

Tuition Rates Increased Due To 2011 Budget Cuts. In September of 2012, the
Dallas Morning News wrote, Tuition is up 9.1 percent this school year from 2010-11, the
last before the Legislatures major budget cuts of 2011. [Dallas Morning News,
09/22/12]

Patrick Voted Against The 2013 Budget Bill, Which Restored Funding Cut In The
2011 Budget. In May of 2013, Patrick voted against SB 1, the general budget bill for 2014
and 2015, which restored funding for higher education. The bill was signed by the governor.
[Senate Journal: 83
rd
Legislature, 05/25/13, pg 3528, SB 1 Text From Conference Committee
Report, 05/26/13]


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The 2013 Budget Restored Funding Cuts To Higher Education. In May of 2013,
the Dallas Morning News wrote, Top state leaders proclaimed that the 2013 legislative
session would focus on the basics of building Texas' future, and infrastructure became
the buzzword. Though higher education wasn't mentioned in the same breath,
lawmakers got to work anyway reinvesting in this building block of the Texas economy.
[] Meanwhile, the next two-year budget wisely restored cuts made last session to basic
formulas that support enrollment. Better, it replaced lost money and added more to the
state's main assistance program for low-income students, the TEXAS Grants. That
program had been cut by more than 10 percent in 2011, to $500 million available over
two years. The next budget boosts the TEXAS Grant pool to $710 million, a smart down
payment on academic talent that might otherwise go untapped. [Dallas Morning News,
05/24/13]

Opposed The Bi-Partisan Texas Dream Act For Texas Students Who
Were Brought Into The US Through No Fault Of Their Own

Patrick Opposed In-State Tuition For Undocumented Immigrants Who Graduated
From High School In Texas And Have Lived In Texas For At Least Three Years. Patrick
filed proposals to repeal Texas 2001 law which extends in-state college tuition to children who
were brought to the United States illegally but who graduated from a Texas high school and
met other residency requirements, but Patrick's attempts at undoing the law in 2009 and 2011
went nowhere in the Legislature. [Austin American-Statesman, 10/19/13]

Perry Signed, And Defended, The Texas Dream Act. In July of 2011, US News and
Report wrote, In sharp contrast to the national Republican Party line, Texas Gov. Rick
Perry still supports his state's version of the so-called DREAM Act, which permits foreign-
born children of illegal immigrants to pay in-state college tuition. To punish these young
Texans for their parents' actions is not what America has always been about, the
potential dark horse GOP candidate told the New Hampshire Union Leader in his first
New Hampshire interview of the 2012 campaign cycle. [US News and Report, 07/25/11]

Texas Dream Act Was Supported By The Texas Association Of Business And
The Dallas Chamber Of Commerce, And Opposed By Only Four Of 181
Lawmakers. In November of 2011, the Austin American-Statesman wrote, [Former
state representative] Noriega said the business community helped give the bill the push
it needed to reach Perry's desk. Groups such as the Texas Association of Business and
the Dallas Chamber of Commerce came out in support, he said, arguing that the bill
would help create a better-educated workforce. Only four lawmakers out of 181 voted
against it. [Austin American-Statesman, 11/13/11]


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Patrick Wants To Repeal The Texas Dream Act. In October of 2013, the Dallas Morning
News wrote, The four major Republican candidates for lieutenant governor all want to repeal
the state law allowing those in the country illegally to pay in-state tuition rates, clashing with
Gov. Rick Perry and complicating GOP efforts to woo Hispanics. Perry famously said in a
presidential debate that anyone who opposed the policy was heartless. But GOP candidates for
the states No. 2 job are pushing a repeal to woo conservative voters. During and after a
Houston-area debate last week, they treated the tuition policy, on the books for 12 years, as
radioactive. [] On Monday, Sen. Dan Patrick of Houston aired the first TV ad of the race. It
said he is the only candidate for lieutenant governor to oppose in-state tuition for illegal
immigrants. [Dallas Morning News, 10/08/13]

Attempted To Cap All Texas Public Universities Admissions On Rural
High School Students Who Worked Hard And Achieved

Patrick Helped Lead The Fight To Change Texas 10 Percent Rule. In February of
2009, Patrick co-authored SB 175, which changed admissions from a system where the top
10% of Texas high school graduates were automatically admitted, to a system where top
graduates were accepted until Texas public universities filled 60% of their incoming freshman
class. The bill was later amended to affect only the University of Texas at Austin and at a rate
of 75%. [Texas Legislature Online SB 175, SB 175 text as enrolled, 05/30/09]

The 10% Rule Helped Rural Students Attend College. In June of 2009 the Austin
American-Statesman wrote, The 1997 law requires Texas public universities to
automatically admit students who graduate in the top 10 percent of their high school
classes. It has helped UT-Austin, Texas A&M and some other universities maintain and
increase racial, ethnic and geographical diversity after a legal ruling - the 1996 Hopwood
decision - banned the use of affirmative action admissions. The U.S. Supreme Court has
since ruled that universities can use narrowly crafted affirmative action policies, but the
race-neutral top 10 percent has been the preferred method of admitting students. It not
only has helped increase enrollment of minority students but also those from rural
regions of the state. That is why lawmakers from rural and urban areas have defended
and even championed the rule, [Austin American-Statesman, 06/04/09]

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The Senate Voted For House Amendments To SB 175 That Limited Its Effects
To The University Of Texas At Austin, And Changed The Cap From 60% To
75%. In May of 2009, the Austin American-Statesman wrote, In a standoff between
the Texas House and Senate over scaling back the state's automatic-admission law for
the University of Texas at Austin, the upper chamber is poised to blink. Sen. Florence
Shapiro, R-Plano, said Thursday that she has reluctantly decided to go along with the
House version of her measure modifying the 1997 law, which grants students in the top
10 percent of a high school graduating class in Texas the right to attend any of the
state's 35 public universities. [] The House version of Senate Bill 175 would allow UT-
Austin - but no other universities - to limit top 10 percent students to 75 percent of
entering freshmen from Texas. Such students made up 81 percent of UT-Austin's
entering freshmen this past fall, and school officials said this leaves too little discretion to
admit students with musical talent, leadership skills and other qualities who don't rank in
the top 10 percent. The version previously approved by the Senate and favored by
Shapiro would allow all universities to impose a 60 percent limit. [Austin American-
Statesman, 05/29/09]

Strong Higher Education Programs Help Keep Texas Economy Strong

Texas Association Of Business Considers Higher Education To Be A Priority For
Attracting Business. On the Texas Association of Business website, they have a page
dedicated to education that reads, To build upon the success of the Texas business climate,
our state must be prepared to meet the challenges of the future. The greatest obstacle Texas
faces is preparing students to graduate with a degree that prepares them for postsecondary
education or to enter the workforce. With more education necessary to keep pace with the
demands of employers, Texas must have a rich supply of workers on hand to fill jobs. [Texas
Association of Business, Education Advocacy Page, accessed 08/13/14]

Texas Comptroller: Higher Education Critical To The Texas Economy. Texas
Comptrollers state webpage, Window on State Government, recommends higher education
spending, writing, Higher education is critical to the Texas economy because it is the key to
providing a highly qualified work force in an increasingly technical world. Higher education also
helps to meet specific local and regional employer demands for skilled employees. [Window on
State Government, accessed 08/13/14]

Texas Comptroller Combs Is A Republican. On the Texas Tribunes website
directory, Texas Comptroller Susan Combs is listed as a Republican. [Texas Tribune,
accessed 08/13/14]

The US Chamber Of Commerce Calls Higher Education Important To Americas
Economic Future. On the US Chamber of Commerces website writes, Nothing is more
important to Americas economic future than the development of a workforce with the skills and
knowledge required to compete in the global economy. [] The Chamber also supports policies
to increase college access and success, affordability, and transparency. [US Chamber of
Commerce, accessed 08/13/14]

5 Pol. Ad Paid for by Leticia Van de Putte for Lt. Governor Campaign. Joe J. Bernal, Treasurer.
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Independent Experts: A College Educated Population Attracts Employers. In August
of 2013, the Economic Policy Institute wrote, Some state officials may be tempted to ask,
What good would it do to produce more college graduates if better-paying jobs for college
graduates are not available? [] As Bartik has put it, An increase in the labor supply probably
stimulates labor demand by at least two-thirds the supply increase. This is because additional
labor attracts employers, and additional higher-skilled labor attracts employers with more skilled
jobs (Bartik 2009). To a degree then, the answer to these concerns is, If you educate them,
jobs will come, [Economic Policy Institute, 08/22/13]

Independent Experts: For Economic Growth, Universities Play A Crucial Role. In
April of 2009, the Milken Institute wrote, As the economic climate grows bleaker, universities
are increasingly being looked to as incubators of innovation and talent. [] The panelists
agreed that universities play a crucial role because they are often a laboratory of business
ideas, new products and the intellectual talent needed for growth. Forty percent of the doctors
that practice medicine in this state went to the University of California, noted Richard Blum,
citing one example of the power of a university in driving a regions economy. The power of
universities as economic engines provides great incentive for them to grow. [Milken Institute,
04/27/09]