Chilling out
STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER/The Battalion
Doug Meier, a chemistry graduate student, adds liquid nitrogen to an ultra-high vacuum chamber. The low-temperature liquid helps improve the vacu
um, which is used to test metal catalysts.
Committee renews review of tax system
Representatives continue research into property-law reform
AUSTIN (AP) — It was a case of
deja vu for participants in Monday’s
meeting of the House Committee
on Revenue and Public Education
Funding.
The same committee that earli
er this year crawled through the
state’s entire tax system is renewing
its review of how Texans pay for
state government.
But leaders of the revamped ef
fort say they are conducting a dif
ferent study that will conclude in a
different result.
“Some of you think we’ve been
here before. You’re wrong,” said House
Speaker Pete Laney, D-Hale Center.
Laney appointed the 11-member
committee earlier this year - and asked
its members to continue their tax re
search after the 1997 legislative ses
sion ended in June.
“We want to know what is right
and what is wrong about our econo
my,” Laney said. “We want to know if
there are ways to make it better.”
After a long review of the tax struc
ture during this year’s legislative ses
sion —a review prompted by Repub
lican Gov. George W. Bush — the
committee recommended sweeping
tax changes to lower property taxes by
about $5 billion by making business
es pay more.
The House and Senate, however,
could not agree on a final tax-cut
ting plan and settled on a much
smaller, $1 billion property tax cut,
paid for with existing state funds
and no new taxes.
The effort now, members of the
committee said, is not to cut prop
erty taxes but to find out more
about each tax the state levies.
Heading the committee again is
Rep. Paul Sadler, D-Henderson. He
asked committee members to draft
detailed reports about each state
tax, making clear who pays each
one, who’s exempt, and the pros
and cons of each levy.
“We don’t want our tax system to
be obstructive to growth,” Sadler
said. “It is worthwhile and respon
sible of us and prudent of us to re
view our tax system.”
Sadler said the last tax review
was focused on cutting property
taxes and had to be completed
within the 140-day legislative ses
sion. He said the committee now
has more time — a final report isn’t
due to the full Legislature until Jan
uary 1999 — and more knowledge
about the subject.
“I do not want this to be a rehash,”
he said. “This is not a committee that
is going to decide in advance where
we are going and hold hearings to get
there. Our role is to memorialize what
we know and develop a road map for
the future.”
sukb Student Counseling
& lp£j It'
Volunteers Heeded...
INTERVIEWING NOW — All Majors Welcomel
For information call Susan Vavra at 845-4427x 133.
The Helpline is a program of the Student Counseling Service,
a department in the Division of Student Affairs.
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BEAT THE HELL 0UTTA FINALS!
WITH THE AGO I E STUDY BREAK!
aTm
E
WHO: EVERYONE
WHEN: DEC. 10, 4-6PM
WHERE: 342 MSC
^ A*
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SPONSORED BY: AG6IE
ORIENTATION LEADER PROGRAM
ALSO, CLASS SHIRTS 099, 'OO, '01) WILL BE ON
SALE MONDAY - THURSDAY IN THE MSC!
Tuesday • December
Research shows if
between mental sir'!'
blood-vessel block
DALLAS (AP) — The way peo
ple handle stress may be a factor
in whether they develop injured
blood vessels or blocked arteries,
conditions that lead to heart at
tacks and strokes
Researchers reported the possi
ble link between mental stress and
changes to the cardiovascular sys
tem in a study published Tuesday
in Circulation, the journal of the
American Heart Association.
The study focused not so
much on stress as it did on an in
dividual’s reaction to stress. The
results suggested that people who
handle stress well may be less
likely to develop certain cardio-
| vascular problems.
Researchers gave 2,682 Finnish
men between 42 and 60 years old
cognitive and motor-skill tests to
perform, then charted changes in
their blood pressure.
The tests, given between
March 1984 and December 1989,
involved having the men press a
button when they saw a target on
a computer screen or memorize a
pattern on the screen and repro
duce it.
Researchers then measured
changes in blood pressure and
heart rate produced by the tasks.
“We don’t know how much stress
the men were under. We know they
showed different responses,” said
Dr. Thomas Kamarck, an associate
professor of psychology at the Uni
versity of Pittsburgh and the study’s
lead author.
“Some showed large blood
pressure changes and some
showed small blood pressure
changes to the same standardized
tests,” he said.
In follow-up studies between
1991 and 1993, researchers
checked the men for physical
conditions that can cause cardio
vascular problems, such as ather
osclerosis (blocked arteries).
The top 20 percent of the sub
jects who reacted most strongly to
the stress tests were found to have
thicker carotid artery walls than
the 20 percent of subjects who had
the smallest reaction.
Carotid arteries are the two
principle neck arteries that deliver
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C\ r'.n
12
TH
MAN
FOUNDATION
/iiUill
Be
'Bart
Congratulate
from the 12th
A s a recent graduate of oneof:
academic institutions in them
Man Foundation wantstobeai
first to recognize your significantacbie'i
In honor of your dedication to the in
Aggie spirit, we are offering you a awir
first year membership in the 12thManS
. you can enjoy the action of the Big 12 Co
This special package includes all of lbit>
being a Foundation donor including;
• Priority seating & parking at Aggit
home football games
• Donor card
• 12th Man Magazine - the new full
color sports magazine
• Decal and lapel pin
All gifts to the 12th Man FOundahonh
education of A&M student-athletes tour f
in the Foundation will continue the trade
athletic and academic excellence at teas
Stop by our table in the MSC on De« r
or 4 between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. andsigo
visit our office between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m
109 of the Koldus Building.
te;m]
IV fir!
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
12TH MAN FOUNDATION
P.0. DRAWER L-1 • COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS 77844-9101
TELEPHONE (409) 846-8892 • FAX (409) 846-2445
www-12thman.tamu.edu
Name
Graduation Date:
Address
City
MAY
AUGUST
DECEMBER
Year
State
.Zip
Phone (Home) (
.(Work) (
□ Complimentary First Year
□ 2nd Year after Graduation at half price - s 50.00
□ 3rd Year after Graduation at half price - s 50.00
□ 1st, 2nd, 3rd year after Graduation - *100.00