Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas House Bill HB3293 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	84R8724 KSD-D
2	2	By: Zerwas H.B. No. 3293
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to performance-based tuition limitations for certain
8	8	public institutions of higher education.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 54, Education Code, is
11	11	amended by adding Section 54.05131 to read as follows:
12	12	Sec. 54.05131. PERFORMANCE-BASED DESIGNATED TUITION
13	13	LIMITATIONS. (a) In this section:
14	14	(1) "General academic teaching institution" and
15	15	"public state college" have the meanings assigned by Section
16	16	61.003.
17	17	(2) "Performance measure" includes only:
18	18	(1) the four-year graduation rate of first-time,
19	19	full-time, bachelor's degree-seeking students;
20	20	(2) the six-year graduation rate of first-time,
21	21	full-time, bachelor's degree-seeking students;
22	22	(3) the persistence rate of first-time, full-time,
23	23	degree-seeking freshman students after one academic year;
24	24	(4) the educator certification rate of teacher
25	25	education graduates;
26	26	(5) the percentage of students awarded a baccalaureate
27	27	degree who are first-generation college graduates;
28	28	(6) the two-year graduation rate of incoming full-time
29	29	undergraduate transfer students;
30	30	(7) the four-year graduation rate of incoming
31	31	full-time undergraduate transfer students;
32	32	(8) the percentage of lower-division semester credit
33	33	hours taught by tenured or tenure-track faculty; and
34	34	(9) the dollar value of external or sponsored research
35	35	expenditures.
36	36	(b) This section applies only to a general academic teaching
37	37	institution other than a public state college.
38	38	(c) This section applies to tuition charged for an academic
39	39	year by an institution to which this section applies only if the
40	40	institution did not satisfy, in the most recent state fiscal year
41	41	preceding that academic year for which information is available,
42	42	more than one-half of the target levels assigned to the performance
43	43	measures included in the General Appropriations Act as applicable
44	44	to the institution for that state fiscal year. The Texas Higher
45	45	Education Coordinating Board in consultation with the Legislative
46	46	Budget Board shall determine whether an institution has satisfied
47	47	an applicable target level for purposes of this subsection.
48	48	(d) For an academic year in which this section applies to an
49	49	institution, the amount of tuition the governing board of the
50	50	institution charges under Section 54.0513 to a student for that
51	51	academic year may not exceed the total amount of tuition that the
52	52	governing board would have charged under that section to a
53	53	similarly situated student in the preceding academic year, as that
54	54	amount is adjusted for each academic year for inflation as
55	55	determined under Subsection (e). The governing board may not
56	56	increase the amount of tuition charged under this section to a
57	57	student more than once in any academic year. For purposes of this
58	58	subsection, students are similarly situated if they share the same
59	59	residency status, degree program, course load, course level,
60	60	tuition exemption status, and other circumstances affecting the
61	61	tuition charged to the student.
62	62	(e) Not later than January 31 of each year, or as soon
63	63	thereafter as practicable, the Legislative Budget Board shall
64	64	publish and certify to the governing board of each institution to
65	65	which this section applies the inflation rate to be used for
66	66	purposes of this section for the next academic year.
67	67	(f) The inflation rate is the percentage increase, if any,
68	68	as expressed in decimal form rounded to the nearest thousandth of
69	69	one percent, in the consumer price index, as defined by Section
70	70	341.201, Finance Code, for the preceding calendar year as compared
71	71	to the consumer price index for the year preceding that year.
72	72	SECTION 2. Chapter 322, Government Code, is amended by
73	73	adding Section 322.025 to read as follows:
74	74	Sec. 322.025. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PERFORMANCE MEASURES AND
75	75	ASSOCIATED TARGET LEVELS FOR CERTAIN INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER
76	76	EDUCATION. (a) In this section:
77	77	(1) "Institution of higher education" has the meaning
78	78	assigned by Section 61.003, Education Code.
79	79	(2) "Performance measure" means a performance measure
80	80	listed in Section 54.05131(a)(2), Education Code.
81	81	(b) Each institution of higher education to which Section
82	82	54.05131, Education Code, applies shall submit to the board, as
83	83	part of the institution's legislative appropriations request for
84	84	the general appropriations bill prepared by the board under Section
85	85	322.008, a requested target level for each performance measure
86	86	applicable to the institution for each of the state fiscal years
87	87	covered by the bill.
88	88	(c) The board, in preparing the general appropriations bill
89	89	under Section 322.008, after considering the performance measure
90	90	target levels requested by institutions under Subsection (b) of
91	91	this section, shall prescribe for each institution to which Section
92	92	54.05131, Education Code, applies and for which money is to be
93	93	appropriated in the bill, recommendations for target levels for the
94	94	performance measures that the board considers appropriate for the
95	95	institution for inclusion in the appropriations to the institution
96	96	for each of the state fiscal years covered by the bill.
97	97	(d) The board's staff shall:
98	98	(1) notify an institution if the staff's proposed
99	99	recommendations applicable to the institution are different from
100	100	the performance measure target levels requested by the institution
101	101	under Subsection (b); and
102	102	(2) provide the institution an opportunity to comment
103	103	on or request modification of the staff's proposed performance
104	104	measure target levels.
105	105	(e) The board shall establish a procedure under which an
106	106	institution that is dissatisfied with the staff's final
107	107	recommendation for one or more performance measure target levels
108	108	applicable to the institution may request a modification of the
109	109	level or levels in a hearing before the board held as soon as
110	110	practicable before the board prescribes its final recommendations
111	111	under Subsection (c) but not later than the date the general
112	112	appropriations bill is filed in the legislature.
113	113	SECTION 3. Section 54.05131, Education Code, as added by
114	114	this Act, applies beginning with tuition charged by a general
115	115	academic teaching institution to which that section applies for the
116	116	2018-2019 academic year. Tuition charged by an institution for an
117	117	academic year before that academic year is covered by the law in
118	118	effect immediately before the effective date of this Act, and the
119	119	former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
120	120	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.