This session, Jamie has filed the following piece of legislation relative to higher education:

An Act authorizing community colleges to borrow for capital spending needs.

This legislation would allow Community Colleges to borrow funds through the Mass State College Building Authority with appropriate safeguards.  The community colleges throughout Massachusetts have significant physical structure issues. Rehabilitation and vital repair of buildings is necessary, particularly to accommodate the large increases in enrollment. This sector of the public higher education institutions has no access to capital funds for such work other than state bonds. The new state bond spending for higher education is welcome but unfortunately is not adequate to meet the large need for capital spending in the Community Colleges.