PHOENIX ÷ UA will get funding to build four research facilities worth $182 million, but could face more budget cuts, state lawmakers said yesterday.

House Speaker Jake Flake, R-Snowflake, said yesterday the university will be receiving funds to construct a building for biomedical science and biotechnology and a southern expansion on the Chemistry building that will provide more lab and office space. It will also include a Phoenix Health Sciences Center campus where students can take classes near the International Genomics Consortium in downtown Phoenix and a medical research building near University Medical Center. Similar bills have received bipartisan approval in the House and Senate.

The medical research building will replace trailers near UMC in which researchers now work.

But the new money doesn't mean universities are exempt from budget cuts next year, Flake said.

During budget negotiations in January, Republican legislators proposed cutting $15.8 million, or 5 percent, more of UA's state funding this year and $19.4 million next year. They later compromised with Gov. Janet Napolitano, so there will be no cuts for the rest of the semester.

But it remains to be seen whether UA will receive another budget cut during the 2003-2004 budget year. House Republicans are pushing for a cut while Napolitano and the Senate seem to be opting to avoid cutting universities when looking for ways to close a $1 billion gap between state revenues and expenditures.

Using one of his many comparisons to life on the range, Flake, a cattle rancher, said this is one way lawmakers are planning for better economic times despite a deficit.

"(It's like) a rancher, if he has tough economic times, and he's got a heard of cows but he don't put bulls on the cows; it's for sure he's not going to get a calf crop. We need to stimulate a calf crop, ladies and gentlemen," Flake said.

Arizona State University and Northern Arizona University will also receive new buildings under the proposal.

But Rep. Ted Downing, a UA anthropology professor/researcher said he isn't up for cuts to the university.

"We're not going to play an either-or game," said Downing, D-Tucson. "(If) it's either cut the faculty and students or build infrastructure, I'm not going to do that."

UA will receive a total of $328 million in yearly payments between 2008 and 2031, much of which will go toward paying for debt on the buildings, according to the proposal.

The university could end up raiding its own budget to pay for some of these funds, as construction on at least two of the four projects is expected to begin before 2008, and the state legislature isn't planning to pay much before that year.

The state is giving the university the tax revenues that will come from the construction materials used to construct the buildings from 2004-2006, but in late 2006 and the beginning of 2007, the university is going to have to find a way to make $28 million payments on the growing buildings without more than $3 million in help from the state.

This proposal also doesn't cover millions in maintenance and operations expenses ÷ electricity, gas, building upkeep ÷ that these buildings are sure to need, said business manager Joel Valdez.

"The devil is in the details. We don't know how that would work," Valdez said of the financing proposal.

He's skeptical of any financing proposal that would have UA covering costs for years because he's not sure if UA's lenders will agree to it, he said.

The university would have gone ahead with the buildings regardless of funding from the Legislature, but "We'd be in a world of hurt trying to do this on our own," Valdez said.

The UA recently lost $1.5 million in funds for UA South that lawmakers had vowed to fund, but UA had to come up with the money to pay contractors, Valdez said. He said he's not sure if this proposal is going to come through or not.

"I'm from Missouri. Show me the money."