§16-5-15. Submission of facilities master plans by public institutions of higher education; review by commission; freeze on construction and acquisitions; prioritization of capital budget requests; exemption of facilities on military reservation.

(a)(1) Each public two-year and four-year institution of higher education shall submit to the commission a facilities master plan. The commission shall review the master plans of each institution and shall make known any concerns and/or recommendations that it may have concerning four-year institutions to its respective board of trustees or, concerning two-year institutions, to the State Board of Education. This plan shall include the five-year plan of the institution regarding new facility construction and acquisition.

(2) The initial facilities master plan shall be filed with the commission prior to January 1, 1997. The plan shall be updated by the institution annually if changes are desired by the institution.

(b) The commission, in consultation with the Council of College and University Presidents and the State Board of Education shall adopt a standard, uniform method of reporting the five-year master plans. This process shall require the commission to notify the institution, the respective boards of trustees and the State Board of Education, within 60 weeks the findings of its review.

(c)(1) A freeze, effective January 1, 1997, for a period of one year on all new facilities construction and acquisitions of existing facilities shall be imposed on public two-year and four-year institutions of higher education, with the exception of those facilities mandated by the Knight, et al. v. State of Alabama consent decree and court order. Any available or budgeted capital funds may be used to renovate, replace, or restore existing facilities. Any facilities already approved by the appropriate governing board prior to January 1, 1997 are exempt from this subsection.

(2) All capital budget requests made by a public institution of higher education to the commission shall be prioritized. Such requests shall also be accompanied by a needs assessment and be included as part of each institution's master plan.

(3) Colleges and universities conducting off-campus facilities on military reservations are exempt from the commission's regulatory review and approval authority for those facilities on the military reservation.

(Acts 1996, No. 96-539, p. 755, §1.)