Below is a press release from the Mississippi Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review (PEER):
The PEER Committee has recently released its report titled A Review of the University Master Planning Process for Capital Outlay Projects.
Some of the Committee’s major findings include:
- According to Section 903A of the IHL Board of Trustees Policies and Bylaws, universities must submit their updated master facilities plan, i.e., campus master plans, every ten years to the IHL Office of Real Estate and Facilities for review and approval, but it does not specify minimum criteria to include in the plan.
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- IHL’s process for developing funding recommendations for university capital outlay projects includes each university’s capital Facilities Needs Request and the development of a proposed 4-Year Bond Plan utilized to request general obligation bond funding for identified university projects for each university over four years.
- During the 2016 through the 2021 Legislative Sessions, the Legislature authorized $440,592,500 in general obligation bonds for university capital outlay projects. This authorized bond funding was for 60 projects, with 75% (45 of 60) for repair and renovation projects and 25% (15 of 60) for new construction projects.
- Total funding for university capital outlay projects from FY 2016 to FY 2021 was $1,322,990,778. This includes state funds received during the 2016 through 2021 Legislative Sessions as well as reported expenditures for capital outlay projects using non-state funds between FY 2016 and FY 2021.
- The IHL Board of Trustees approves capital outlay projects greater than $1,000,000, as well as certain specified items related to capital outlay projects that may not rise to the $1,000,000 threshold. The IHL Board of Trustees delegates approval of capital outlay projects $1,000,000 or less to each university.
- PEER determined no single entity tracks expenditures for university capital outlay projects, although DFA attempts to track components of the state’s capital outlay project expenditures. One must survey each of the institutions of higher learning to ascertain the total state expenditures for university capital outlay projects. This lack of information impedes the Legislature from determining the full scope of funding for university capital outlay projects when making funding decisions.
The full report can be accessed in the attachment below or with the link here.
