The House approved House Bill 4013 which sets aside $140 million a year for the next five years to help state colleges and universities addressed deferred maintenance needs. Representative Mark McBride is the author of the bill.
“I’ve traveled to almost every school in the Oklahoma State System of Higher Education and found needs stretching from replacement of boilers and AC units, to roofs, to schools that have good bones but maybe they need to remodel some of their interiors so students have a better learning environment,” McBride said.
HB 4013 sets up the Higher Education Capital Financing Fund and establishes the Oklahoma State System of Higher Education Capital Needs Evaluation Committee.
The funds would be used to take care of the maintenance that currently exists on the campuses of state colleges and universities. It would not pay for new buildings.
HB 4013 is now eligible to be assigned to a Senate committee for further action.
