OLIVEIRA ADMITS DEFEAT, LUCIO STEPS UP TO THE PLATE

"Wanna tell you a story,
About the house-man blues
I come home one Friday,
Had to tell the landlady I'd-a lost my job
She said that don't confront me,
Long as I get my money next Friday
Now next Friday come I didn't get the rent,
And out the door I went..."
"1 Bourbon, 1 Scotch, 1 Beer
George Thorogood

By Juan Montoya
There's a want ad in The Collegian, UTB-TSC's fine little paper.
"Wanted, aggressive collector for deadbeat renters. Works on commission."
The ad appeared after and despite the valiant efforts of Texas State Rep. Rene Oliveira, he failed to get the University of Texas System to fork over the back rent it owes to Texas Southmost College since 1994.
Now we understand that Stet Sen. Eddie Lucio has applied for the position and has promised to some heavy lifting in getting the UT System to dig into its oil-and-gas deep pockets and pay the little college district what it owes it.
In fact, they have known since 2009 that they owed $10,861,150 way back then. But, like the hero in Thorogood's song, it has admitted it owes and continues to hem and haw about how it will pay up.
Now, we know Eddie can squeeze a buck out of anyone from here to Willacy County and make a fine living, thank you. His palatial estate speaks volumes of how a poor teacher from Browntown has managed to eke out $100,000s from any and all contractors seeking to build a public facility like an international bridge or a prison.
So a mere $10.8 million from the university system should be a cinch, shouldn't it?
Ah, but those academic administrators and their sleek attorneys might pose a slight problem. When Oliveira went after them in the last biennium, he did so on the premise that it would be easier to get the cash from the Legislature rather than getting it from the UT System.
In a letter he drafted then, he states that "I...had meetings with Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa, and UT Vice Chancellor for Governmental Affairs Barry McBee early in the legislative session to bring the leasde debt to their attention. In return, we agreed to forgo the very contentious and difficult legislative task of attempting to force UTB into the Permanent University Fund."
The Permanent University Fund (PUF) is a public endowment contributing to the support of institutions of The University of Texas System (UT System) and the Texas A&M University System (A&M System), other than the University of Texas-Pan American and the University of Texas-Brownsville. The Constitution of 1876 established the PUF through the appropriation of land grants previously given to The University of Texas plus one million acres.
Additional land grants to the PUF were completed in 1883 with the contribution of another one million acres. Today the PUF contains 2.1 million acres located in 24 counties primarily in West Texas.
On December 31, 2010 the market value and book value of the PUF was $11.9 billion and $10.3 billion, respectively, exclusive of land acreage.
While the UT System is claiming penury to stave off the advances of our little legislators, a look at it's portfolio indicates that these skinflints really don't want to share their money with the Mexicans on the border.
The investment performance of ten largest stock holdings from January 1, 2010 through December 31, 2010 was about $151 million, and that amounted to less than 1 percent (0.83 to be exact) of the PUF.
Investments include the Brazil Index Fund, real estate in Hong Kong, Halliburton, Mitsubishi, Massey Energy, etc...
In fact, the market value of its "economically targeted investment" was $162,942 million. Economically targeted investments means an investment in which at least 50% of the total investment is allocated to economic development within the state of Texas or investment in businesses or entities located within the state of Texas.
No wonder Rene doesn't want to tangle with the Big Boys to wrest a measly $10 or $15 million for back rent! They'd eat his lunch!
In fact, he and Lucio and the crew in control at TSC way back when the original "partnership" was drafted with the UT System (Mary Rose Cardenas, Juliet Garcia, Michael Putegnat, et al) agreed that they (like Pan Am) would be left out of the PUF as a condition of getting the prestigious UT name on the college's buildings.
When Oliveira attached a rider to a bill requiring the UT System to pay up or be gone down the road, it was removed by the Legislative Budget Board with Chairman Sen. Steve Ogden and Vice-Chair Juan Hinojosa., House Appropriations Chair Jim Pitts, Vice-Chair Richard Raymomd. who argued (and Oliveira agreed) that it was the UT System that owed the money, not the state.
Instead, the UT System countered with a rider of their own to study the issue for for the development of the 2012-2013 appropriations cycle, omitting any obligation of time frame to pay back the lease funds.
Slick, hey?
Oliveira states that even while the UT System acknowledges it owes TSC the cash, it is "unprepared to absorb the lease debt costs in the current budget cycle....Despite all of the above, the system will likely urge legal defenses and set offs for services rendered (?)..."
In other words, screw you TSC.
OK, Eddie. Step up to the plate and see how good you are.