Capital Highlights A summary of the week's significant events in Austin
Voters say yes to all 16 constitional amendments
Ed Sterling Texas Press Association

Ed Sterling is director of member services for the Texas Press Association in Austin.

A USTIN - Voters approved all 16 constitutional amendments

up for consideration

in the Nov. 6 statewide election. Only about 8.5 percent of the state's 12.6 million registered voters cast ballots, Secretary of State Phil Wilson said.

Once more, for the record, here are the briefs:

? Prop. 1: Switching Angelo State University to Texas Tech System

governance.

? Prop. 2: $500 million in general obligation bonds to finance educational loans.

? Prop. 3: Authorizing the Legislature to limit the maximum average annual percentage increase in the appraised value of a residence homestead for ad valorem tax purposes to 10 percent, or a greater percentage, for each year since the most recent tax appraisal of the homestead.

? Prop. 4: $1 billion in bonds for maintenance, improvement, repair and construction projects, including prisons.

? Prop. 5: Allowing a city under 10,000 population to enter into an agreement to limit taxes on a piece of municipal property.

? Prop. 6: Creating a tax exemption for one of a person's motor vehicles.

? Prop. 7: Allowing a governmental body to sell land it acquired by eminent domain.

? Prop. 8: Making changes regarding a person's eligibility for a home equity loan.

? Prop. 9: Granting disabled veterans exemptions from ad valorem tax on their residence.

? Prop. 10: Abolishing the office of inspector of hides and animals.

? Prop. 11: Requiring that the House and Senate take a record vote on final passage of any bill, other than certain local bills, of a resolution proposing or ratifying a constitutional amendment, or of any other nonceremonial resolution, and providing for public access on the Internet to those record votes.

? Prop. 12: $5 billion in highway improvement bonds.

? Prop. 13: Authorizing the denial of bail to a person who violates certain court orders or conditions of release in a felony or family violence case.

? Prop. 14: Permitting judges past retirement age to complete their term of office.

? Prop. 15: Requiring the creation of the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas and authorizing the issuance of up to $3 billion in bonds payable from the general revenues of the state for research in Texas to find the causes of and cures for cancer.

? Prop. 16: Providing for the issuance of additional general obligation bonds by the Texas Water Development Board in an amount not to exceed $250 million to provide assistance to economically distressed areas. School district tests hybrid bus

Austin Independent School District is trying out a new plug-in hybrid school bus the school district recently purchased.

The bus cost $225,000. Federal and state grants covered $146,000 and funds from a 2004 school district bond issue covered the remaining $79,000. The price of a typical new diesel school bus can run $75,000 or more.

Austin ISD's 71-passenger diesel-electric bus meets the latest federal emission standards. It will get about 12 miles to the gallon.

Most school buses get about six miles to a gallon of diesel, school officials said.

This is the first plug-in hybrid school bus in Texas, and one of only 18 in the United States.

New manager for college fund

Texas Comptroller Susan Combs on Nov. 7 announced OFIPrivate Investments Inc. will be the new manager of the statesponsored college savings plan.

The slogan for our new and improved college savings plan is 'The Start of Something Big,'" Combs said.

The firm, a subsidiary of OppenheimerFunds Inc., will begin managing Texas' $200 million 529 Plan on Nov. 19. The estimated 20,000 current account holders will transfer automatically from Tomorrow's College Investment Plan to the direct- sold Texas College Savings Plan or the advisor-sold LoneStar 529 Plan.

For a child born this year, the projected cost of four years at a public university will exceed $77,000 for tuition and fees alone.

Four years of tuition and fees at a private university are expected to exceed $294,000. Room and board, books and other expenses will significantly increase the price tag, Combs said.