By: Branch, McCall, Coleman, McClendon, H.B. No. 51
Madden, et al.
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to funding and incentives to support emerging public
research universities in developing and maintaining programs of the
highest tier.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. The heading to Chapter 62, Education Code, is
amended to read as follows:
CHAPTER 62. CONSTITUTIONAL AND STATUTORY [DIVISION OF
CONSTITUTIONALLY APPROPRIATED] FUNDS TO SUPPORT [AMONG CERTAIN]
INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION[; RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT FUND]
SECTION 2. Chapter 62, Education Code, is amended by adding
Subchapters C and D to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER C. RESEARCH UNIVERSITY DEVELOPMENT FUND
Sec. 62.051. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Eligible institution" means an emerging research
university.
(2) "Emerging research university" means an
institution of higher education that the coordinating board
determines:
(A) is a research university as that term is
commonly used in classifying or ranking institutions of higher
education; and
(B) has demonstrated a commitment to developing
and maintaining degree and research programs that support the
mission of the institution and the institution's efforts to improve
its ranking among research universities.
(3) "Institution of higher education" has the meaning
assigned by Section 61.003.
Sec. 62.052. PURPOSE. The purpose of this subchapter is to
provide funding to eligible institutions for the enhancement of
research productivity to enable those institutions to achieve
national prominence as major research universities.
Sec. 62.053. FUNDING. (a) For each state fiscal year, the
comptroller shall distribute any funds appropriated by the
legislature for the purposes of this subchapter, and any other
funds made available for the purposes of this subchapter, among
eligible institutions in proportion to the total amount of
restricted research funds expended by each institution in the two
most recent state fiscal years.
(b) For purposes of Subsection (a), the amount of restricted
research funds expended by an eligible institution in a state
fiscal year is the amount of those funds as reported to the
coordinating board by the institution for that year, subject to any
adjustment by the coordinating board in accordance with the
standards and accounting methods the coordinating board prescribes
for purposes of this section.
(c) The legislature may not appropriate money for purposes
of this subchapter in a state fiscal year unless the legislature
appropriates an equal amount of money for that fiscal year for the
Texas Research Incentive Program under Subchapter D.
Sec. 62.054. USE OF ALLOCATED AMOUNTS. An eligible
institution may use money received under this subchapter only for
the support and maintenance of educational and general activities
that promote increased research capacity at the institution.
Sec. 62.055. RULES. The coordinating board shall adopt
rules for the administration of this subchapter, including rules
requiring eligible institutions to report necessary information to
the coordinating board.
SUBCHAPTER D. TEXAS RESEARCH INCENTIVE PROGRAM (TRIP)
Sec. 62.071. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Eligible institution" means an emerging research
university.
(2) "Emerging research university" means an
institution of higher education that the coordinating board
determines:
(A) is a research university as that term is
commonly used in classifying or ranking institutions of higher
education; and
(B) has demonstrated a commitment to developing
and maintaining degree and research programs that support the
mission of the institution and the institution's efforts to improve
its ranking among research universities.
(3) "Institution of higher education" has the meaning
assigned by Section 61.003.
(4) "Program" means the Texas Research Incentive
Program (TRIP) established under this subchapter.
Sec. 62.072. PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION. (a) The coordinating
board shall administer the Texas Research Incentive Program (TRIP)
in accordance with this subchapter to provide matching funds to
assist eligible institutions in leveraging private gifts for the
enhancement of research productivity and faculty recruitment. The
comptroller shall deliver any payment of matching funds to which an
eligible institution is entitled under the program.
(b) The legislature may not appropriate money for purposes
of this subchapter in a state fiscal year unless the legislature
appropriates an equal amount of money for that fiscal year for the
research university development fund under Subchapter C.
Sec. 62.073. MATCHING GRANTS. (a) An eligible institution
that receives cash gifts from private sources in a state fiscal year
for the purpose of enhancing research activities at the
institution, including gifts for endowments or endowed chairs or
professorships, research or academic facilities, equipment,
program costs, or graduate stipends or fellowships, is entitled to
receive, out of funds appropriated for the purposes of the program
for that fiscal year, a matching grant in an amount determined
according to the following rates:
(1) 50 percent of the total amount of the gifts
received, if the total amount of those gifts is $100,000 or more but
not more than $999,999;
(2) 75 percent of the total amount of the gifts
received, if the total amount of those gifts is $1 million or more
but not more than $1,999,999; or
(3) 100 percent of the total amount of the gifts
received, if the total amount of those gifts is $2 million or more.
(b) An eligible institution is not entitled to matching
funds under the program for:
(1) an in-kind gift;
(2) a gift that has been pledged but has not been
received by the institution;
(3) a gift for undergraduate scholarships, grants, or
other financial aid; or
(4) any portion of gifts received by the institution
from a single source in a state fiscal year in excess of $10
million.
(c) The coordinating board shall establish procedures for
the certification by the coordinating board of an eligible
institution's receipt of a qualifying gift. A gift must be
certified as of the date the gift was deposited by the institution
in a depository bank or invested by the institution as authorized by
law.
(d) If the funds appropriated for the program for a state
fiscal year are insufficient to provide matching grants in the
amounts specified by this section for all qualifying private gifts
received by eligible institutions during that fiscal year, the
coordinating board shall authorize matching grants for those gifts
in order of their certification dates under Subsection (c) and
shall authorize matching grants for any remaining unmatched gifts
in the following fiscal year. Unmatched gifts carried forward from
a preceding fiscal year under this subsection shall be given
priority over gifts received in the current fiscal year, and shall
be provided matching grants under this section in order of their
certification dates. An unmatched gift shall continue to be
carried forward to subsequent fiscal years until a matching grant
is awarded for the gift.
(e) Matching grants received by an eligible institution
under this section may not be considered as a basis to reduce,
directly or indirectly, the amount of money otherwise appropriated
or allocated to the institution under any other law.
Sec. 62.074. USE OF MATCHING GRANTS. An eligible
institution may use matching grant money received under this
subchapter for the same purpose as that for which the matched gift
was received or for the support and maintenance of educational and
general activities that promote increased research capacity at the
institution.
Sec. 62.075. RULES. The coordinating board shall adopt
rules for the administration of this subchapter, including rules
requiring eligible institutions to report necessary information to
the coordinating board.
SECTION 3. Chapter 62, Education Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter F to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER F. NATIONAL RESEARCH UNIVERSITY FUND
Sec. 62.121. PURPOSE. The purpose of this subchapter is to
allocate appropriations from the national research university fund
to provide a dedicated, independent, and equitable source of
funding to enable emerging research universities in this state to
achieve national prominence as major research universities.
Sec. 62.122. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Eligible institution" means a general academic
teaching institution that is eligible to receive distributions of
money under this subchapter.
(2) "Fund" means the national research university
fund.
(3) "General academic teaching institution" has the
meaning assigned by Section 61.003.
Sec. 62.123. ADMINISTRATION AND INVESTMENT OF FUND. (a)
The national research university fund is a fund outside the state
treasury in the custody of the comptroller.
(b) The comptroller shall administer and invest the fund in
accordance with Section 20, Article VII, Texas Constitution.
Sec. 62.124. FUNDING. (a) The fund consists of any
amounts appropriated or transferred to the credit of the fund under
the Texas Constitution or otherwise appropriated or transferred to
the credit of the fund under this section or another law.
(b) The comptroller shall deposit to the credit of the fund
all interest, dividends, and other income earned from investment of
the fund.
(c) The comptroller may accept gifts or grants from any
public or private source for the fund.
Sec. 62.125. ELIGIBILITY TO RECEIVE DISTRIBUTIONS FROM
FUND. (a) A general academic teaching institution is eligible to
receive a distribution of money under this subchapter for each year
of a state fiscal biennium if:
(1) the institution is designated as an emerging
research university under the coordinating board's accountability
system;
(2) in each of the two state fiscal years preceding the
state fiscal biennium, the institution expended at least $45
million in restricted research funds; and
(3) the institution satisfies at least four of the
following criteria:
(A) the aggregate value of the institution's
endowment funds is at least $400 million;
(B) the institution awarded at least 200 doctor
of philosophy degrees during each of the two academic years
preceding the state fiscal biennium;
(C) the entering freshman class of the
institution for each of those two academic years demonstrated high
academic achievement, as determined according to standards
prescribed by the coordinating board by rule, giving consideration
to the future educational needs of the state as articulated in the
coordinating board's "Closing the Gaps" report;
(D) the institution is designated as a member of
the Association of Research Libraries or has a Phi Beta Kappa
chapter or has received an equivalent recognition of research
capabilities and scholarly attainment as determined according to
standards prescribed by the coordinating board by rule;
(E) the faculty of the institution for each of
those two academic years was of high quality, as determined
according to coordinating board standards based on the professional
achievement and recognition of the institution's faculty,
including the election of faculty members to national academies;
and
(F) the institution has demonstrated a
commitment to high quality graduate education, as determined
according to standards prescribed by the coordinating board by
rule, including the number of graduate-level programs at the
institution, the institution's admission standards for graduate
programs, and the level of institutional support for graduate
students.
(b) A general academic teaching institution that becomes
eligible to receive a distribution of money under this subchapter
remains eligible to receive a distribution in each subsequent state
fiscal year.
Sec. 62.126. ACCOUNTING STANDARDS; VERIFICATION OF
INFORMATION. (a) The coordinating board, in consultation with the
State Auditor's Office, by rule shall prescribe standard methods of
accounting and standard methods of reporting information for the
purpose of determining the eligibility of institutions under
Section 62.125.
(b) As soon as practicable in each even-numbered year, based
on information submitted by the institutions to the coordinating
board as required by the coordinating board, the coordinating board
shall certify to the comptroller the institutions that are
determined to be initially eligible for distributions of money from
the fund for the following state fiscal biennium.
(c) At the request of the coordinating board, the State
Auditor's Office shall verify the information supporting the
coordinating board's determination under Subsection (b).
Sec. 62.127. INELIGIBILITY OF INSTITUTIONS RECEIVING
PERMANENT UNIVERSITY FUND SUPPORT AND MAINTENANCE. The University
of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M University, and Prairie View A&M
University are ineligible to receive money under this subchapter.
Sec. 62.128. ALLOCATION OF APPROPRIATED FUNDS TO ELIGIBLE
INSTITUTIONS. In each state fiscal year, the comptroller shall
distribute to eligible institutions the total amount appropriated
from the fund for that fiscal year. The amount allocated to the
eligible institutions shall be based on an equitable formula
adopted by the legislature to carry out the purposes of the fund as
established by Section 20, Article VII, Texas Constitution. In
adopting the allocation formula, the legislature shall consider the
recommendations of the coordinating board, including
recommendations on the appropriate elements and relative weights of
elements of the formula.
Sec. 62.129. USE OF ALLOCATED AMOUNTS. (a) An eligible
institution may use money received under this subchapter only for
the support and maintenance of educational and general activities
that promote increased research capacity at the institution.
(b) For purposes of Subsection (a), permitted activities
include the use of the money to:
(1) provide faculty support and pay faculty salaries;
(2) purchase equipment or library materials;
(3) pay graduate stipends; and
(4) support research performed at the institution,
including undergraduate research.
(c) Money received in a fiscal year by an institution under
this subchapter that is not used in that fiscal year by the
institution may be held and used by the institution in subsequent
fiscal years for the purposes prescribed by this section.
SECTION 4. Section 62.094, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 62.094. FUNDING. (a) The research development fund
consists of the [amount deposited to the credit of the fund under
Section 62.025 in each state fiscal year, the amount appropriated
or transferred to the credit of the fund by the legislature under
Subsection (b), and any other] amounts appropriated or transferred
to the credit of the fund under this section or other law.
(b) [In each state fiscal year, the legislature may
appropriate or provide for the transfer to the credit of the
research development fund of an amount not less than the amount
deposited to the credit of the fund under Section 62.025 in that
fiscal year.
[(c)] The comptroller shall deposit all interest,
dividends, and other income earned from investment of the research
development fund to the credit of the fund.
(c) [(d)] The comptroller may accept gifts or grants from
any public or private source for the research development fund.
SECTION 5. Sections 62.025 and 62.026, Education Code, are
repealed.
SECTION 6. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
shall adopt rules relating to the administration of Subchapters C,
D, and F, Chapter 62, Education Code, as added by this Act, as soon
as practicable after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 7. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this
section, this Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
(b) Sections 3, 4, and 5 of this Act take effect January 1,
2010, but only if the constitutional amendment proposed by the 81st
Legislature, Regular Session, 2009, establishing the national
research university fund to enable emerging research universities
in this state to achieve national prominence as major research
universities and transferring the balance of the higher education
fund to the national research university fund is approved by the
voters. If that constitutional amendment is not approved by the
voters, Sections 3, 4, and 5 of this Act do not take effect.