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srothstein wrote:

sugar land dave wrote:If I am understanding correctly, section 46.03 of the penal code, which the zoo seems to be relying on, includes section 61.003 of the Texas Education Code for its definitions of educational facility. I do not seem to find the zoo on the list.

Be careful. You can make an argument that the PC would rely on the Education Code for all of the education differences, but it does not explicitly do so. It only refers to that section for the definition of colleges.

Charles L. Cotton wrote:"Educational institution" is not defined in Texas statues. There is something close and it does not help the zoo. I've already written a bench brief on this subject. This is going to cost the Houston Zoo a lot of money.

Chas.

Sec. 61.003. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:

(1) "Board" means the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

(2) "Public junior college" means any junior college certified by the board in accordance with Section 61.063 of this chapter.

(3) "General academic teaching institution" means The University of Texas at Austin; The University of Texas at El Paso; The University of Texas of the Permian Basin; The University of Texas at Dallas; The University of Texas at San Antonio; Texas A&M University, Main University; The University of Texas at Arlington; Tarleton State University; Prairie View A&M University; Texas Maritime Academy; Texas Tech University; University of North Texas; Lamar University; Lamar State College--Orange; Lamar State College--Port Arthur; Texas A&M University--Kingsville; Texas A&M University--Corpus Christi; Texas Woman's University; Texas Southern University; Midwestern State University; University of Houston; University of Texas--Pan American; The University of Texas at Brownsville; Texas A&M University--Commerce; Sam Houston State University; Texas State University; West Texas A&M University; Stephen F. Austin State University; Sul Ross State University; Angelo State University; The University of Texas at Tyler; and any other college, university, or institution so classified as provided in this chapter or created and so classified, expressly or impliedly, by law.

(4) "Public senior college or university" means a general academic teaching institution as defined above.

(5) "Medical and dental unit" means The Texas A&M University System Health Science Center and its component institutions, agencies, and programs; the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center; the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center at El Paso; The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston; The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center; The University of Texas Medical School at San Antonio; The University of Texas Dental Branch at Houston; The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center; The University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Houston; The University of Texas Dental School at San Antonio; The University of Texas Medical School at Houston; The University of Texas Health Science Center--South Texas and its component institutions, if established under Subchapter N, Chapter 74; the nursing institutions of The Texas A&M University System and The University of Texas System; and The University of Texas School of Public Health at Houston; and such other medical or dental schools as may be established by statute or as provided in this chapter.

(6) "Other agency of higher education" means The University of Texas System, System Administration; Texas Western University Museum; Texas A&M University System, Administrative and General Offices; Texas Agricultural Experiment Station; Texas Agricultural Extension Service; Rodent and Predatory Animal Control Service (a part of the Texas Agricultural Extension Service); Texas Engineering Experiment Station (including the Texas Transportation Institute); Texas Engineering Extension Service; Texas Forest Service; Texas Tech University Museum; Texas State University System, System Administration; Sam Houston Memorial Museum; Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum; Cotton Research Committee of Texas; Water Resources Institute of Texas; Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory; and any other unit, division, institution, or agency which shall be so designated by statute or which may be established to operate as a component part of any public senior college or university, or which may be so classified as provided in this chapter.

(7) "Public technical institute" means the Lamar Institute of Technology or the Texas State Technical College System.

(8) "Institution of higher education" means any public technical institute, public junior college, public senior college or university, medical or dental unit, public state college, or other agency of higher education as defined in this section.

(9) "Governing board" means the body charged with policy direction of any public technical institute, public junior college, public senior college or university, medical or dental unit, or other agency of higher education, including but not limited to boards of directors, boards of regents, boards of trustees, and independent school district boards insofar as they are charged with policy direction of a public junior college.

(10) "University system" means the association of one or more public senior colleges or universities, medical or dental units, or other agencies of higher education under the policy direction of a single governing board.

(11) "Degree program" means any grouping of subject matter courses which, when satisfactorily completed by a student, will entitle him to a degree from a public senior college or university or a medical or dental unit.

(12) "Certificate program" means a grouping of subject-matter courses which, when satisfactorily completed by a student, will entitle him to a certificate, associate degree from a technical institute or junior college, or documentary evidence, other than a degree, of completion of a course of study at the postsecondary level.

(13) "Recognized accrediting agency" means the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and any other association or organization so designated by the board.

(14) "Educational and general buildings and facilities" means buildings and facilities essential to or commonly associated with teaching, research, or the preservation of knowledge, including the proportional share used for those activities in any building or facility used jointly with auxiliary enterprises. Excluded are auxiliary enterprise buildings and facilities, including but not limited to dormitories, cafeterias, student union buildings, stadiums, and alumni centers, used solely for those purposes.

(15) "Private or independent institution of higher education" includes only a private or independent college or university that is:

(A) organized under the Texas Non-Profit Corporation Act (Article 1396-1.01 et seq., Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes);

(B) exempt from taxation under Article VIII, Section 2, of the Texas Constitution and Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. Section 501); and

(C) accredited by:

(i) the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools;

(ii) the Liaison Committee on Medical Education; or

(iii) the American Bar Association.

(16) "Public state college" means Lamar State College--Orange, Lamar State College--Port Arthur, or the Lamar Institute of Technology.