By: Lucio S.B. No. 1909
(In the Senate - Filed April 18, 2011; April 18, 2011, read
first time and referred to Committee on Higher Education;
April 29, 2011, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 6, Nays 0; April 29, 2011,
sent to printer.)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1909 By: Watson
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to The University of Texas at Brownsville, including its
partnership agreement with the Texas Southmost College District.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subsection (c), Section 78.02, Education Code,
is amended to read as follows:
(c) The university may enter into any [a partnership]
agreement with the Texas Southmost [Union Junior] College District
to facilitate higher education advancement and opportunity in the
district's service area and the transition of students from Texas
Southmost College to [in the manner authorized by Subchapter N,
Chapter 51, to offer a lower-division, occupational, or technical
course that is not offered at] the university. An agreement may
cover any matter related to those purposes, including the
facilitation of the transfer of course credit and the alignment of
courses between the university and the college.
SECTION 2. Section 78.03, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as
follows:
(a) The board may prescribe courses leading to customary
degrees offered at leading American universities and may award
those degrees, including bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees
and their equivalents. These degree programs should also meet the
requirements of the area for economic development [authorize the
university to offer any upper-level or graduate course which is
authorized by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board].
(a-1) A department, school, or degree program may not be
instituted without the prior approval of the Texas Higher Education
Coordinating Board.
SECTION 3. Section 78.04, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 78.04. FACILITIES. (a) The board shall make
provisions for adequate physical facilities for use by the
university. Subject to the agreement of the parties as provided by
Subsection (b), the facilities may include facilities[,] on land
committed by the board of trustees of the Texas Southmost [Union
Junior] College District on the district's Texas Southmost College
campus. The provision of facilities is[,] subject to the normal
requirements of the board and the Texas Higher Education
Coordinating Board.
(b) The board and the board of trustees of the Texas
Southmost College District may contract with each other for the use
of facilities. The terms of the contract shall be negotiated
between the parties and must provide for reasonable compensation
for the use of facilities.
SECTION 4. Subsections (b) and (d), Section 78.02, and
Sections 78.07 and 78.08, Education Code, are repealed.
SECTION 5. (a) The University of Texas at Brownsville and
the Texas Southmost College District, formerly referred to as the
Southmost Union Junior College District, are free-standing,
independent institutions that have operated in close association
under a partnership agreement authorized by Section 78.02,
Education Code. It is the intent of this Act to facilitate the
independent operation of the university and the college district in
the absence of such a partnership, but this Act does not affect the
authority of the university and the college district to continue in
partnership or to establish a new partnership at a future date.
(b) The University of Texas at Brownsville and the Texas
Southmost College District shall cooperate to ensure that each
institution timely achieves separate accreditation from a
recognized accrediting agency before the termination of the
existing partnership agreement and shall continue a partnership
agreement in effect until August 31, 2015, to the extent necessary
to ensure accreditation.
(c) The University of Texas at Brownsville and the Texas
Southmost College District may extend or renew the existing
agreement, agree to its earlier termination, or execute a new
agreement as necessary to ensure accreditation.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2011.
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