New Mexico 2025 Regular Session

New Mexico Senate Bill SB266 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	underscored material = new
2	2	[bracketed material] = delete
3	3	1
4	4	2
5	5	3
6	6	4
7	7	5
8	8	6
9	9	7
10	10	8
11	11	9
12	12	10
13	13	11
14	14	12
15	15	13
16	16	14
17	17	15
18	18	16
19	19	17
20	20	18
21	21	19
22	22	20
23	23	21
24	24	22
25	25	23
26	26	24
27	27	25
28	28	SENATE BILL 266
29	29	57
30	30	TH LEGISLATURE
31	31	-
32	32
33	33	STATE
34	34
35	35	OF
36	36
37	37	NEW
38	38
39	39	MEXICO
40	40
41	41	-
42	42	FIRST SESSION
43	43	,
44	44
45	45	2025
46	46	INTRODUCED BY
47	47	George K. Muñoz and Carrie Hamblen
48	48	AN ACT
49	49	RELATING TO HIGHER EDUCATION; PROVIDING FOR REVIEW AND APPROVAL
50	50	BY THE STATE BOARD OF FINANCE FOR CERTAIN QUALIFYING AGREEMENTS
51	51	WITH ADMINISTRATORS FOR STATE EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS OR
52	52	COMMUNITY COLLEGES; PROVIDING FOR REVIEW AND APPROVAL BY THE
53	53	ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR RELEASE AND INDEMNIFICATION TERMS OF
54	54	CERTAIN QUALIFYING AGREEMENTS WITH ADMINISTRATORS FOR STATE
55	55	EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS OR COMMUNITY COLLEGES; REQUIRING
56	56	ANNUAL REPORTS REGARDING REVIEWED QUALIFYING AGREEMENTS BY THE
57	57	STATE BOARD OF FINANCE TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL; CREATING A
58	58	CIVIL CAUSE OF ACTION AGAINST A BOARD OF REGENTS OR A COMMUNITY
59	59	COLLEGE GOVERNING BOARD OR A MEMBER OF THOSE BOARDS FOR A
60	60	BREACH OF A FIDUCIARY DUTY; REQUIRING BOARDS OF REGENTS OR
61	61	COMMUNITY COLLEGE GOVERNING BOARDS TO SECURE SEPARATE COUNSEL
62	62	IN THE EVENT OF A BOARD MEMBER'S BREACH OF FIDUCIARY DUTY
63	63	ACTION.
64	64	.229970.2 underscored material = new
65	65	[bracketed material] = delete
66	66	1
67	67	2
68	68	3
69	69	4
70	70	5
71	71	6
72	72	7
73	73	8
74	74	9
75	75	10
76	76	11
77	77	12
78	78	13
79	79	14
80	80	15
81	81	16
82	82	17
83	83	18
84	84	19
85	85	20
86	86	21
87	87	22
88	88	23
89	89	24
90	90	25
91	91	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
92	92	SECTION 1. [NEW MATERIAL] SHORT TITLE.--This act may be
93	93	cited as the "Higher Education Accountability Act".
94	94	SECTION 2. [NEW MATERIAL] DEFINITIONS.--As used in the
95	95	Higher Education Accountability Act:
96	96	A. "administrator" means a president, chancellor,
97	97	vice president, vice chancellor, provost or vice provost,
98	98	regardless of any executive, senior or assistant designation, a
99	99	director of athletics and any other person that is performing a
100	100	similar executive function or role at a state educational
101	101	institution or community college, regardless of that person's
102	102	title. "Administrator" does not include any executive
103	103	personnel who are employed by the university of New Mexico
104	104	health sciences center;
105	105	B. "board of regents" means a board created by the
106	106	legislature to control and manage a state educational
107	107	institution as provided in Article 12, Section 13 of the
108	108	constitution of New Mexico;
109	109	C. "community college" means a public educational
110	110	institution that provides not to exceed two years of training
111	111	in the arts, sciences and humanities beyond the twelfth grade
112	112	of the public high school curriculum or, in lieu of that
113	113	training or in addition to it, not to exceed two years of a
114	114	vocational and technical curriculum and appropriate courses of
115	115	.229970.2
116	116	- 2 - underscored material = new
117	117	[bracketed material] = delete
118	118	1
119	119	2
120	120	3
121	121	4
122	122	5
123	123	6
124	124	7
125	125	8
126	126	9
127	127	10
128	128	11
129	129	12
130	130	13
131	131	14
132	132	15
133	133	16
134	134	17
135	135	18
136	136	19
137	137	20
138	138	21
139	139	22
140	140	23
141	141	24
142	142	25
143	143	study for persons who may or may not have completed the twelfth
144	144	grade of public high school;
145	145	D. "community college board" means the governing
146	146	board of a community college that has a duty to determine the
147	147	financial and educational policies of that community college as
148	148	provided in the Community College Act;
149	149	E. "consideration" means a thing of value that is
150	150	adequate to support a promise and that is bargained for,
151	151	including cash, other property, services or a form of
152	152	compensation that is of a value at least equal to the value of
153	153	the property interest to be conveyed;
154	154	F. "duty of care and prudent administration" means
155	155	the duty of a member of a board of regents or a community
156	156	college board to carry out the member's responsibilities using
157	157	the degree of diligence, sound judgment and skill that an
158	158	ordinarily prudent person would reasonably exercise under
159	159	similar circumstances in a like position;
160	160	G. "duty of good faith" means the duty of a member
161	161	of a board of regents or a community college board to act
162	162	within the law to advance the interests of the state
163	163	educational institution or community college for which the
164	164	member serves and to carry out the member's responsibilities
165	165	ethically, honestly and with sincere conduct free from malice
166	166	or ill intent;
167	167	H. "duty of undivided loyalty" means the duty of a
168	168	.229970.2
169	169	- 3 - underscored material = new
170	170	[bracketed material] = delete
171	171	1
172	172	2
173	173	3
174	174	4
175	175	5
176	176	6
177	177	7
178	178	8
179	179	9
180	180	10
181	181	11
182	182	12
183	183	13
184	184	14
185	185	15
186	186	16
187	187	17
188	188	18
189	189	19
190	190	20
191	191	21
192	192	22
193	193	23
194	194	24
195	195	25
196	196	member of a board of regents or a community college board to
197	197	faithfully pursue the mission of, and act solely in the best
198	198	interest of, the state educational institution or community
199	199	college for which the member serves, rather than for personal
200	200	gain or the benefit of other organizations, groups or
201	201	individuals;
202	202	I. "employment agreement" means a contract between
203	203	a state educational institution or a community college and an
204	204	administrator that establishes the terms and conditions of the
205	205	administrator's employment, including the administrator's
206	206	duties, salary, benefits, performance expectations, the
207	207	administrator's role, duration of service and employment
208	208	relationship with the state educational institution or
209	209	community college. An "employment agreement" includes any
210	210	financial instrument, however named, that serves the same
211	211	purpose;
212	212	J. "indemnification" means a contractual
213	213	arrangement that provides the responsibilities of one party to
214	214	compensate another party for certain damages, losses or
215	215	liabilities that may arise during the performance of the
216	216	contract, and may include terms to hold harmless or protect one
217	217	party from specific financial losses or other legal
218	218	consequences resulting from the occurrence of certain events or
219	219	actions;
220	220	K. "performance or incentive compensation
221	221	.229970.2
222	222	- 4 - underscored material = new
223	223	[bracketed material] = delete
224	224	1
225	225	2
226	226	3
227	227	4
228	228	5
229	229	6
230	230	7
231	231	8
232	232	9
233	233	10
234	234	11
235	235	12
236	236	13
237	237	14
238	238	15
239	239	16
240	240	17
241	241	18
242	242	19
243	243	20
244	244	21
245	245	22
246	246	23
247	247	24
248	248	25
249	249	agreement" means a contract between a state educational
250	250	institution or a community college and an administrator that
251	251	links additional compensation, including a bonus or other
252	252	incentive, to the achievement of a specific performance target
253	253	or milestone by the administrator, and may include academic,
254	254	financial, athletic or operational performance goals. A
255	255	"performance or incentive compensation agreement" includes any
256	256	financial instrument, however named, that serves the same
257	257	purpose;
258	258	L. "qualifying agreement" means an employment
259	259	agreement, performance or incentive compensation agreement,
260	260	retention agreement, separation agreement or settlement
261	261	agreement, including a proposed qualifying agreement or an
262	262	amended qualifying agreement or any financial instrument,
263	263	however named, that serves the same purposes;
264	264	M. "regular full-time employee" means a non-faculty
265	265	employee of a state educational institution or community
266	266	college who is not employed in a part-time or temporary status,
267	267	is hired for an indefinite period of time, subject to
268	268	satisfactory performance and availability of funding, and who
269	269	is normally scheduled to work at least forty hours each week;
270	270	N. "release of liability" means a clause or term,
271	271	by any name, in a contractual agreement that provides that a
272	272	party to the contract is released or discharged from liability,
273	273	including any potential cause of action, obligation, promise or
274	274	.229970.2
275	275	- 5 - underscored material = new
276	276	[bracketed material] = delete
277	277	1
278	278	2
279	279	3
280	280	4
281	281	5
282	282	6
283	283	7
284	284	8
285	285	9
286	286	10
287	287	11
288	288	12
289	289	13
290	290	14
291	291	15
292	292	16
293	293	17
294	294	18
295	295	19
296	296	20
297	297	21
298	298	22
299	299	23
300	300	24
301	301	25
302	302	agreement, in exchange for some consideration;
303	303	O. "retention agreement" means a contractual
304	304	arrangement that provides an administrator with a specific
305	305	financial benefit to encourage the administrator's continued
306	306	employment with a state educational institution or community
307	307	college. A "retention agreement" includes any financial
308	308	instrument, however named, that serves the same purpose;
309	309	P. "separation agreement" means a contractual
310	310	arrangement between an administrator and a state educational
311	311	institution or a community college that provides the terms and
312	312	conditions for the administrator's voluntary or involuntary
313	313	separation from employment with the state educational
314	314	institution or community college and includes any severance
315	315	compensation or benefit upon the administrator's separation,
316	316	and may include terms related to the release of liability and
317	317	indemnification of future claims or loss due to actions of a
318	318	party to the agreement. "Separation agreement" includes any
319	319	other financial instrument, however named, that serves the same
320	320	purposes;
321	321	Q. "settlement agreement" means a contract between
322	322	an administrator and a state educational institution or
323	323	community college that is intended to resolve any dispute or
324	324	potential legal claim that may arise from the administrator's
325	325	employment or separation from the state educational institution
326	326	or community college without the need for litigation or further
327	327	.229970.2
328	328	- 6 - underscored material = new
329	329	[bracketed material] = delete
330	330	1
331	331	2
332	332	3
333	333	4
334	334	5
335	335	6
336	336	7
337	337	8
338	338	9
339	339	10
340	340	11
341	341	12
342	342	13
343	343	14
344	344	15
345	345	16
346	346	17
347	347	18
348	348	19
349	349	20
350	350	21
351	351	22
352	352	23
353	353	24
354	354	25
355	355	legal proceedings. A "settlement agreement" may include
356	356	release of liability or indemnification terms related to
357	357	future claims or loss due to the actions of a party.
358	358	"Settlement agreement" includes any other financial instrument,
359	359	however named, that serves the same purposes;
360	360	R. "severance compensation" means a financial
361	361	benefit or payment provided to an administrator upon the
362	362	separation of that administrator from employment with the state
363	363	educational institution or community college at which the
364	364	administrator is employed;
365	365	S. "state educational institution" means an
366	366	institution designated in Article 12, Section 11 of the
367	367	constitution of New Mexico and provided for in Chapter 21,
368	368	Article 1 NMSA 1978; and
369	369	T. "total compensation" means the complete package
370	370	of direct monetary payments and indirect non-monetary benefits
371	371	that an employee receives from the employee's employer. "Total
372	372	compensation" may include base salary; performance or retention
373	373	bonuses; medical, dental, life and disability insurance and the
374	374	premiums for those insurances; employer and employee
375	375	contributions to a retirement or pension plan; housing and
376	376	relocation allowances; professional development funds; tuition
377	377	discounts; research start-up funds; vehicle and travel
378	378	allowances; entertainment and networking expenses; equity
379	379	options or stock grants; deferred compensation payments; club
380	380	.229970.2
381	381	- 7 - underscored material = new
382	382	[bracketed material] = delete
383	383	1
384	384	2
385	385	3
386	386	4
387	387	5
388	388	6
389	389	7
390	390	8
391	391	9
392	392	10
393	393	11
394	394	12
395	395	13
396	396	14
397	397	15
398	398	16
399	399	17
400	400	18
401	401	19
402	402	20
403	403	21
404	404	22
405	405	23
406	406	24
407	407	25
408	408	or gym memberships; contributions to flexible spending accounts
409	409	or health savings accounts; special annuity payments; or any
410	410	other fringe benefit that has the purpose of recruiting or
411	411	retaining the employee. "Total compensation" includes all
412	412	direct monetary payments and indirect non-monetary benefits,
413	413	whether provided directly by a state educational institution or
414	414	community college or through an external entity affiliated with
415	415	the state educational institution or community college,
416	416	including any foundation, athletic booster club or other
417	417	organization of any name with a similar fundraising purpose.
418	418	SECTION 3. [NEW MATERIAL] REVIEW REQUIRED FOR CERTAIN
419	419	ADMINISTRATOR QUALIFYING AGREEMENTS--STATE BOARD OF FINANCE--
420	420	ATTORNEY GENERAL--CONSEQUENCES FOR FAILURE TO SUBMIT FOR
421	421	REVIEW--RULES.--
422	422	A. To promote financial stability and the
423	423	responsible allocation of state funds and to maintain public
424	424	confidence in the financial management of the state's
425	425	educational institutions and community colleges, before the
426	426	execution of a qualifying agreement for an administrator with
427	427	a state educational institution or community college, the
428	428	qualifying agreement shall be submitted by the state
429	429	educational institution or the community college for review and
430	430	approval, modification or rejection by the state board of
431	431	finance if the qualifying agreement:
432	432	(1) exceeds an employment term of five years;
433	433	.229970.2
434	434	- 8 - underscored material = new
435	435	[bracketed material] = delete
436	436	1
437	437	2
438	438	3
439	439	4
440	440	5
441	441	6
442	442	7
443	443	8
444	444	9
445	445	10
446	446	11
447	447	12
448	448	13
449	449	14
450	450	15
451	451	16
452	452	17
453	453	18
454	454	19
455	455	20
456	456	21
457	457	22
458	458	23
459	459	24
460	460	25
461	461	or
462	462	(2) includes a total compensation value that
463	463	exceeds ten times the total compensation value of the state
464	464	educational institution's or the community college's lowest-
465	465	compensated regular full-time employee at the time the
466	466	qualifying agreement is submitted for review.
467	467	B. When reviewing a qualifying agreement submitted
468	468	pursuant to Subsection A of this section, the state board of
469	469	finance shall endeavor to prevent financial loss, waste or
470	470	abuse and shall:
471	471	(1) ensure that any significant expenditures
472	472	in the qualifying agreement do not impair the financial
473	473	standing of the state educational institution or community
474	474	college or limit the ability of the state educational
475	475	institution or community college to invest in academic programs
476	476	or student services;
477	477	(2) ensure that the qualifying agreement does
478	478	not contain unwarranted terms, including excessive severance
479	479	compensation or other financial benefits; or
480	480	(3) identify fiscally imprudent terms deemed
481	481	anomalous as compared to like or similar agreements at peer
482	482	institutions.
483	483	C. Within thirty calendar days of receipt of a
484	484	qualifying agreement submitted for review to the state board of
485	485	finance by a state educational institution or a community
486	486	.229970.2
487	487	- 9 - underscored material = new
488	488	[bracketed material] = delete
489	489	1
490	490	2
491	491	3
492	492	4
493	493	5
494	494	6
495	495	7
496	496	8
497	497	9
498	498	10
499	499	11
500	500	12
501	501	13
502	502	14
503	503	15
504	504	16
505	505	17
506	506	18
507	507	19
508	508	20
509	509	21
510	510	22
511	511	23
512	512	24
513	513	25
514	514	college, the state board of finance shall complete the state
515	515	board of finance's review of the qualifying agreement by taking
516	516	one of the following actions:
517	517	(1) approving the qualifying agreement;
518	518	(2) requesting modification of the terms of
519	519	the qualifying agreement and providing the specific
520	520	modifications requested; or
521	521	(3) rejecting the qualifying agreement and
522	522	providing clearly stated reasons for the rejection.
523	523	D. If a qualifying agreement submitted to the state
524	524	board of finance by a state educational institution or
525	525	community college results in:
526	526	(1) an approval by the state board of finance,
527	527	the state educational institution or community college may
528	528	formally execute the qualifying agreement;
529	529	(2) a request for modification, the state
530	530	educational institution or community college shall modify the
531	531	qualifying agreement as provided for by the state board of
532	532	finance; or
533	533	(3) a rejection, the state educational
534	534	institution or community college may:
535	535	(a) revise the qualifying agreement in a
536	536	manner that addresses the reasons for rejection provided by the
537	537	state board of finance; and
538	538	(b) submit the revised qualifying
539	539	.229970.2
540	540	- 10 - underscored material = new
541	541	[bracketed material] = delete
542	542	1
543	543	2
544	544	3
545	545	4
546	546	5
547	547	6
548	548	7
549	549	8
550	550	9
551	551	10
552	552	11
553	553	12
554	554	13
555	555	14
556	556	15
557	557	16
558	558	17
559	559	18
560	560	19
561	561	20
562	562	21
563	563	22
564	564	23
565	565	24
566	566	25
567	567	agreement to the state board of finance for further review.
568	568	E. If a qualifying agreement that requires review
569	569	by the state board of finance pursuant to this section includes
570	570	terms providing for a release of liability or indemnification
571	571	of a party to the agreement, in addition to submitting the
572	572	qualifying agreement to the state board of finance for review,
573	573	the state educational institution or community college shall
574	574	also submit the qualifying agreement to the attorney general
575	575	for review of the release of liability or indemnification terms
576	576	as provided in Section 4 of the Higher Education Accountability
577	577	Act.
578	578	F. A qualifying agreement executed without the
579	579	review and approval of the state board of finance or the
580	580	attorney general as required pursuant to this section is null
581	581	and void.
582	582	G. Approval by the state board of finance of a
583	583	qualifying agreement submitted for review by a state
584	584	educational institution or a community college does not
585	585	preclude the attorney general from instituting an action for
586	586	breach of fiduciary duty against a board of regents or
587	587	community college board or a member of those boards as provided
588	588	in Section 6 of the Higher Education Accountability Act.
589	589	H. The state board of finance shall promulgate and
590	590	adopt rules to implement this section pursuant to the State
591	591	Rules Act.
592	592	.229970.2
593	593	- 11 - underscored material = new
594	594	[bracketed material] = delete
595	595	1
596	596	2
597	597	3
598	598	4
599	599	5
600	600	6
601	601	7
602	602	8
603	603	9
604	604	10
605	605	11
606	606	12
607	607	13
608	608	14
609	609	15
610	610	16
611	611	17
612	612	18
613	613	19
614	614	20
615	615	21
616	616	22
617	617	23
618	618	24
619	619	25
620	620	SECTION 4. [NEW MATERIAL] RELEASE OF LIABILITY--
621	621	AGREEMENTS--CLAUSES--ATTORNEY GENERAL REVIEW.--
622	622	A. Before the execution of a qualifying agreement
623	623	for an administrator with a state educational institution or
624	624	community college that includes terms related to a release of
625	625	liability or indemnification, the qualifying agreement shall be
626	626	submitted by the state educational institution or community
627	627	college to the attorney general for review and approval,
628	628	modification or rejection.
629	629	B. Within thirty calendar days of receipt of a
630	630	qualifying agreement submitted pursuant to Subsection A of this
631	631	section, the attorney general shall complete the review and
632	632	shall:
633	633	(1) approve the release of liability or
634	634	indemnification terms within the qualifying agreement;
635	635	(2) request modification of terms to the
636	636	release of liability or indemnification within the qualifying
637	637	agreement and provide the specific modification requested; or
638	638	(3) reject the release of liability or
639	639	indemnification terms within the qualifying agreement and
640	640	clearly state the reasons for the rejection.
641	641	C. If a qualifying agreement submitted to the
642	642	attorney general by a state educational institution or
643	643	community college results in:
644	644	(1) an approval of the release of liability or
645	645	.229970.2
646	646	- 12 - underscored material = new
647	647	[bracketed material] = delete
648	648	1
649	649	2
650	650	3
651	651	4
652	652	5
653	653	6
654	654	7
655	655	8
656	656	9
657	657	10
658	658	11
659	659	12
660	660	13
661	661	14
662	662	15
663	663	16
664	664	17
665	665	18
666	666	19
667	667	20
668	668	21
669	669	22
670	670	23
671	671	24
672	672	25
673	673	indemnification terms by the attorney general, the state
674	674	educational institution or community college may formally
675	675	execute the agreement;
676	676	(2) a request for modification of the release
677	677	of liability or indemnification terms, the state educational
678	678	institution or community college shall modify the qualifying
679	679	agreement as provided by the attorney general; or
680	680	(3) a rejection of the release of liability or
681	681	indemnification terms, the state educational institution or
682	682	community college may:
683	683	(a) revise the release of liability or
684	684	indemnification terms in the qualifying agreement pursuant to
685	685	the reasons for rejection provided by the attorney general; and
686	686	(b) submit the revised qualifying
687	687	agreement to the attorney general for further review, upon
688	688	which the state educational institution or community college
689	689	may revise the release of liability or indemnification terms
690	690	and submit the agreement for further review.
691	691	D. A qualifying agreement executed without the
692	692	review and approval of the attorney general as required
693	693	pursuant to this section is null and void.
694	694	E. The attorney general shall promulgate and adopt
695	695	rules to implement the provisions in this section in accordance
696	696	with the State Rules Act.
697	697	SECTION 5. [NEW MATERIAL] REPORTING REQUIREMENTS--STATE
698	698	.229970.2
699	699	- 13 - underscored material = new
700	700	[bracketed material] = delete
701	701	1
702	702	2
703	703	3
704	704	4
705	705	5
706	706	6
707	707	7
708	708	8
709	709	9
710	710	10
711	711	11
712	712	12
713	713	13
714	714	14
715	715	15
716	716	16
717	717	17
718	718	18
719	719	19
720	720	20
721	721	21
722	722	22
723	723	23
724	724	24
725	725	25
726	726	EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION--COMMUNITY COLLEGE--STATE BOARD OF
727	727	FINANCE REPORT.--
728	728	A. Beginning with the 2025-2026 academic year, a
729	729	state educational institution or community college that employs
730	730	an administrator with an existing qualifying agreement that
731	731	meets the criteria established in Section 3 or Section 4 of the
732	732	Higher Education Accountability Act shall submit to the
733	733	attorney general and the secretary of higher education no later
734	734	than June 30, 2026 and no later than each June 30 following the
735	735	completion of an academic year a report containing:
736	736	(1) the name of each administrator employed
737	737	with an existing qualifying agreement;
738	738	(2) the title of the administrator;
739	739	(3) the total compensation, by category, paid
740	740	to the administrator; and
741	741	(4) the total compensation, by category, paid
742	742	to the lowest-compensated regular full-time employee at the
743	743	state educational institution or community college where the
744	744	administrator is employed.
745	745	B. No later than December 31, 2025 and no later
746	746	than December 31 of each year thereafter, the state board of
747	747	finance shall submit to the attorney general and the secretary
748	748	of higher education a report containing the number of
749	749	qualifying agreements reviewed and a breakdown of the types of
750	750	qualifying agreements reviewed and whether the qualifying
751	751	.229970.2
752	752	- 14 - underscored material = new
753	753	[bracketed material] = delete
754	754	1
755	755	2
756	756	3
757	757	4
758	758	5
759	759	6
760	760	7
761	761	8
762	762	9
763	763	10
764	764	11
765	765	12
766	766	13
767	767	14
768	768	15
769	769	16
770	770	17
771	771	18
772	772	19
773	773	20
774	774	21
775	775	22
776	776	23
777	777	24
778	778	25
779	779	agreements were employment, performance or incentive
780	780	compensation, retention, separation or settlement agreements,
781	781	and for each qualifying agreement reviewed:
782	782	(1) a designation of which state educational
783	783	institution or community college submitted the agreement for
784	784	review;
785	785	(2) the name and title of the administrator
786	786	who is a signatory or a desired signatory to the qualifying
787	787	agreement;
788	788	(3) a brief description of the qualifying
789	789	agreement's terms, including the total compensation paid or
790	790	intended to be paid to the administrator;
791	791	(4) the determinations reached by the state
792	792	board of finance related to the qualifying agreement's
793	793	approval, modification or rejection as provided in Section 3 of
794	794	the Higher Education Accountability Act; and
795	795	(5) a brief explanation of the criteria relied
796	796	upon to justify the state board of finance's determination.
797	797	SECTION 6. [NEW MATERIAL] BREACH OF FIDUCIARY DUTY--CIVIL
798	798	CAUSE OF ACTION AGAINST BOARD OF REGENTS--COMMUNITY COLLEGE
799	799	BOARD--MEMBERS OF BOARD.--
800	800	A. A member of a board of regents or a community
801	801	college board or an administrator of a state educational
802	802	institution or community college owes the state educational
803	803	institution or community college for which the member or
804	804	.229970.2
805	805	- 15 - underscored material = new
806	806	[bracketed material] = delete
807	807	1
808	808	2
809	809	3
810	810	4
811	811	5
812	812	6
813	813	7
814	814	8
815	815	9
816	816	10
817	817	11
818	818	12
819	819	13
820	820	14
821	821	15
822	822	16
823	823	17
824	824	18
825	825	19
826	826	20
827	827	21
828	828	22
829	829	23
830	830	24
831	831	25
832	832	administrator serves a fiduciary duty, including a duty of care
833	833	and prudent administration, a duty of good faith and a duty of
834	834	undivided loyalty.
835	835	B. The attorney general may bring a cause of action
836	836	against a member of a board of regents or community college
837	837	board or an administrator of a state educational institution or
838	838	community college who commits a breach of fiduciary duty. The
839	839	action may be filed in the district where the state educational
840	840	institution or community college is located or in the first
841	841	judicial district.
842	842	C. If the attorney general brings a cause of action
843	843	against a member of the board of regents or community college
844	844	board, counsel for the state educational institution or the
845	845	community college shall:
846	846	(1) not serve as counsel to a member named in
847	847	the action;
848	848	(2) immediately submit a plan to the attorney
849	849	general setting forth a process for providing independent
850	850	counsel to a member of the board named in the action; and
851	851	(3) continue to provide independent counsel to
852	852	an administrator named in the action consistent with the
853	853	administrator's independent fiduciary duty to the state
854	854	educational institution or community college.
855	855	D. If the court determines that a member of a board
856	856	of regents or community college board or an administrator of a
857	857	.229970.2
858	858	- 16 - underscored material = new
859	859	[bracketed material] = delete
860	860	1
861	861	2
862	862	3
863	863	4
864	864	5
865	865	6
866	866	7
867	867	8
868	868	9
869	869	10
870	870	11
871	871	12
872	872	13
873	873	14
874	874	15
875	875	16
876	876	17
877	877	18
878	878	19
879	879	20
880	880	21
881	881	22
882	882	23
883	883	24
884	884	25
885	885	state educational institution or community college may breach
886	886	or has breached a fiduciary duty owed by the member or
887	887	administrator to the state educational institution or community
888	888	college, the court may:
889	889	(1) enjoin the board of regents or community
890	890	college board or administrator of a state educational
891	891	institution or community college from committing a breach of
892	892	fiduciary duty;
893	893	(2) compel performance of duties required of a
894	894	member of a board of regents or community college board or an
895	895	administrator of a state educational institution or community
896	896	college;
897	897	(3) order the member of the board of regents
898	898	or community college board or administrator of a state
899	899	educational institution or community college to reimburse the
900	900	state for the cost of defending the action;
901	901	(4) impound public funds related to the breach
902	902	until the resolution of the action; or
903	903	(5) order any other legal or equitable relief
904	904	the court deems appropriate.
905	905	E. The civil action and remedies provided by this
906	906	section are not exclusive and are in addition to any other
907	907	actions or remedies in law or equity otherwise available,
908	908	including the ability to seek removal of a member of a board of
909	909	regents under Article 12, Section 13 of the constitution of New
910	910	.229970.2
911	911	- 17 - underscored material = new
912	912	[bracketed material] = delete
913	913	1
914	914	2
915	915	3
916	916	4
917	917	5
918	918	6
919	919	7
920	920	8
921	921	9
922	922	10
923	923	11
924	924	12
925	925	13
926	926	14
927	927	15
928	928	16
929	929	17
930	930	18
931	931	19
932	932	20
933	933	21
934	934	22
935	935	23
936	936	24
937	937	25
938	938	Mexico.
939	939	SECTION 7. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the
940	940	provisions of this act is July 1, 2025.
941	941	- 18 -
942	942	.229970.2