TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) -- Badly needed repairs on aging buildings at the University of Arizona will again be delayed because of a lack of cash, state officials said.

The state had hoped to use bond money for $68 million in fixes on the UA campus and later repay the bonds using lottery money.

The cash was part of a $1 billion bond plan pitched by the presidents of the state's three public universities called SPEED, or Stimulus Plan for Economic And Educational Development and approved by the Legislature in June. It was designed to fund construction at the universities and the expansion of UA's Phoenix biomedical campus.

But a state legislative committee bottled up the money on Tuesday, triggering another delay in fixing heating and air conditioning units, sprinkler systems and malfunctioning wheelchair lifts on the UA campus. Projects at Northern Arizona University and Arizona State University also are on hold.

UA President Robert Shelton calls the delays frustrating.

"We're dead in the water," Shelton said.

Pete Dourlein, associate director of UA's Department of Facilities Design and Construction, said the problems will only get worse and the cost of fixing them will rise the longer the legislative committee postpones review of the allocation.

"Some of our buildings are 40, 50, 60 years old and the systems in the buildings are well beyond their useful life," Dourlein said. "We don't see anyone in danger, but we could certainly make things safer."

UA's allocation for local needs was $170 million, which included $68 million for deferred maintenance in many aging buildings, architectural planning for Centennial Hall renovations and constructing an environmental sciences building.

The Legislature's Joint Committee on Capital Review must review projects before university officials can go forward. State law requires that capital projects of more than $250,000 go before the committee for review, although a project wouldn't need a favorable review in order to proceed.

State Sen. Robert Burns, R-Peoria, vice chairman of the committee, said the state is faced with a $300 million reduction in state revenues with lottery proceeds down 13 percent for the first three months of the fiscal year that began July 1.

"We have to rethink the use of our lottery revenue. Maybe it doesn't need to go to these projects right now but something else," Burns said.

"We're very disappointed a couple of folks have decided they don't like and won't review it," said Jaime Molera, a government-affairs representative for the Arizona Board of Regents, which oversees the three universities. "We're looking at all options."

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