A House and Senate companion bill to allow Virginia Tech to lease or rent land obtained through donation or purchase was stricken from the docket last month before making it to the house floor.
Delegate Glenn Oder of Newport News patroned House Bill 43 in the General Assembly, while Senator John Edwards of Roanoke patroned companion Senate Bill 434.
“It was determined that the bill was not necessary and it was never presented to the House of Delegates,” Oder said. “It was simply a concept that the university was considering regarding trying to encourage public and private partnerships and how land leasing can be affected by that.”
The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia said it approved the bill, and would have been satisfied with its passing.
“SCHEV did not have a problem doing it,” said Kirsten Nelson, director of communication and government relations for SCHEV. “They wanted to be sure there was consistency between the source of the funds used to acquire the property and the use of the lease proceeds. For instance, if the property was acquired through educational funds, the leased funds should go to educational programs.”
All parties agreed the bills were introduced as more of a precaution than anything else, with Tech seeking some sort of clarification on the present governances.
After further discussion, Oder said, it was determined that Tech already had the authority it was seeking.
The legislation for HB43 and SB434 came to fruition through a plan to expand the Oak Lane Greek community.
“We’ve always had a plan for expansion out there, and we are now planning a partnership with house corporations,” said Ed Spencer, vice president for student affairs. “House corporations are alumni of undergraduate chapters who manage property or look to acquire property for their undergraduate chapters.”
Spencer said the university is currently looking at a “phase four plan.”
“There would be an additional five houses, and then further parts of stage four would add up to 12 houses,” Spencer said. “There are 17 lots that we are looking at expanding on to. The first five would not intrude on the golf course, but once we reach lot six and beyond — well, we would be looking at shutting down the golf course.”
Spencer said Sigma Phi Epsilon, Sigma Chi and Beta Theta Pi are the only three groups that have submitted applications or letters of commitment to the new community.
The closing of the nine-hole Tech golf course is still nearly a decade away, though the first stage of phase four could be completed within two to three years.
Spencer noted the university has been avoiding expanding onto the remaining nine holes of the golf course for as long as possible.
“The golf course is the last piece of land contiguous to the main campus to which we can expand,” Spencer said.
Spencer outlined the university master plan, which includes the Oak Lane expansion, as well as a parking garage and academic and student support buildings on the land currently occupied by the course.
Laura Fornash, director of state government relations for Tech, noted the university has a considerable amount of authority when it comes to restructuring with capital outlay. In order for Tech to pursue legislation, Fornash said the university must simply find a patron to introduce the bill.
“We just ask a legislator and usually if it’s a concept they understand, they are willing to patron the bill,” Fornash said. “Timing is important as to when you get the concept to them. It varies on their load, if they have a lot of bills that will be demanding on their time.”
Specific to HB43 and SB434, Fornash referenced three levels of autonomy in capital outlay, a system that governs the freedom a particular university has in project development. Tech has level three clearance, granting it the most freedom possible for a state university.
“There is a lot of red tape cut between the institutions and state government so we don’t have to go to Richmond on certain things,” Fornash said.
In addition to Tech, William and Mary and the University of Virginia also both have maximum flexibility. Virginia Commonwealth University is currently in the process of applying for level three autonomy.
On a given year, Fornash said Tech can track upwards of 150 bills in the House and Senate relative to higher education that include capital outlay, human resources, and finance, among other things.
In the 2010 session, Fornash highlighted HB1189, dealing with a restructuring of retirement plans state employees. The bill was rejected on March 1.