Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1701 Compare Versions

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Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R10097 KJE-F
2	2	By: Parker S.B. No. 1701
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the health care professional education fund.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Section 62.003(1), Education Code, is amended to
12	12	read as follows:
13	13	(1) Except as otherwise provided by Subchapters C, D,
14	14	E, F, G, [and] I, and J, "eligible institution" means the eligible
15	15	agencies and institutions of higher education listed in Article
16	16	VII, Section 17(b), of the Constitution of Texas, and any
17	17	institution or agency of higher education that is later made
18	18	eligible to participate in the disbursement of funds pursuant to
19	19	Article VII, Section 17(c), of the Constitution of Texas.
20	20	SECTION 2. Chapter 62, Education Code, is amended by adding
21	21	Subchapter J to read as follows:
22	22	SUBCHAPTER J. HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION FUND
23	23	Sec. 62.201. PURPOSE. The purpose of this subchapter is to
24	24	allocate appropriations from the health care professional
25	25	education fund to provide a dedicated, independent, and equitable
26	26	source of funding to enable general academic teaching institutions
27	27	to increase the production of health care professional degrees to
28	28	meet workforce needs in this state.
29	29	Sec. 62.202. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
30	30	(1) "Eligible institution" means a general academic
31	31	teaching institution that is eligible to receive distributions of
32	32	money under this subchapter.
33	33	(2) "Fund" means the health care professional
34	34	education fund.
35	35	(3) "General academic teaching institution" and
36	36	"university system" have the meanings assigned by Section 61.003.
37	37	(4) "Health care professional degree" means a
38	38	baccalaureate degree, a master's degree, a doctoral of professional
39	39	practice degree, or a research doctorate degree listed under Code
40	40	51 as a health profession or related clinical science in the
41	41	Classification of Instructional Programs adopted by the United
42	42	States Department of Education.
43	43	(5) "Trust company" means the Texas Treasury
44	44	Safekeeping Trust Company.
45	45	Sec. 62.203. ADMINISTRATION AND INVESTMENT OF FUND. (a)
46	46	The health care professional education fund is a fund outside the
47	47	state treasury held by the comptroller and administered by the
48	48	trust company.
49	49	(b) The trust company shall administer and invest the fund
50	50	in accordance with Section 21, Article VII, Texas Constitution.
51	51	(c) The trust company shall determine the amount available
52	52	for distribution from the fund in accordance with a distribution
53	53	policy adopted by the comptroller that is designed to:
54	54	(1) preserve the purchasing power of the fund's assets
55	55	over an economic cycle, subject to the liquidity needs of the fund;
56	56	and
57	57	(2) provide as nearly as practicable a stable and
58	58	predictable stream of annual distributions.
59	59	Sec. 62.204. GIFTS, GRANTS, AND DONATIONS. The comptroller
60	60	may solicit and accept gifts, grants, or donations from any public
61	61	or private source for the fund.
62	62	Sec. 62.205. ELIGIBILITY TO RECEIVE DISTRIBUTIONS FROM
63	63	FUND. A general academic teaching institution is eligible to
64	64	receive distributions under this subchapter for a state fiscal year
65	65	if the institution:
66	66	(1) is designated as a comprehensive university,
67	67	doctoral university, or master's university under the coordinating
68	68	board's accountability system; and
69	69	(2) awarded health care professional degrees during
70	70	the preceding state fiscal year.
71	71	Sec. 62.206. DISTRIBUTION OF APPROPRIATION FUNDS TO
72	72	ELIGIBLE INSTITUTIONS. (a) Each state fiscal year, the
73	73	comptroller shall distribute to eligible institutions in
74	74	accordance with this subchapter money appropriated from the fund
75	75	for that fiscal year.
76	76	(b) The total amount appropriated from the fund for any
77	77	state fiscal year may not exceed an amount equal to 7.0 percent of
78	78	the average net market value of the investment assets of the fund,
79	79	as determined by the comptroller, for a period set by comptroller
80	80	policy.
81	81	(c) The amount appropriated from the fund for distribution
82	82	in a state fiscal year must be allocated as follows:
83	83	(1) 95 percent to the permanent endowment for health
84	84	care professional education under Section 62.207; and
85	85	(2) five percent to the health care professional
86	86	education startup fund under Section 62.208.
87	87	Sec. 62.207. PERMANENT ENDOWMENT FOR HEALTH CARE
88	88	PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION. (a) For each state fiscal year, an
89	89	eligible institution is entitled to a distribution of a portion of
90	90	the total amount allocated for the permanent endowment for health
91	91	care professional education under Section 62.206(c)(1) for that
92	92	fiscal year. Subject to Subsection (b), the portion of the total
93	93	amount allocated to which an eligible institution is entitled is a
94	94	fraction of that total amount equal to the quotient of:
95	95	(1) the sum of:
96	96	(A) the number of bachelor of science or bachelor
97	97	of arts health care professional degrees awarded by the institution
98	98	in the preceding three years;
99	99	(B) three multiplied by the number of master of
100	100	arts or master of science health care professional degrees awarded
101	101	by the institution in the preceding three years; and
102	102	(C) six multiplied by the number of doctor of
103	103	professional practice or research doctorate health care
104	104	professional degrees awarded by the institution in the preceding
105	105	three years; and
106	106	(2) the total of all amounts calculated for eligible
107	107	institutions under Subdivision (1).
108	108	(b) Before distributions are made under Subsection (a), the
109	109	comptroller shall:
110	110	(1) reduce the amount to which eligible institutions
111	111	are entitled under that subsection as necessary to ensure that no
112	112	single eligible institution or university system receives more than
113	113	25 percent of the annual distribution from the fund for that state
114	114	fiscal year; and
115	115	(2) reallocate any amounts by which one or more
116	116	eligible institutions' distributions are reduced under Subdivision
117	117	(1) to each other eligible institution whose distribution was not
118	118	reduced under Subdivision (1) based on the institution's pro rata
119	119	share under Subsection (a), subject to the limit described by
120	120	Subdivision (1).
121	121	Sec. 62.208. HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION STARTUP
122	122	FUND. (a) Each state fiscal year, the coordinating board shall
123	123	distribute money allocated under Section 62.206(c)(2) to award
124	124	grants to eligible institutions to start new or expand existing
125	125	health care professional degree programs.
126	126	(b) An eligible institution that has reached the limit under
127	127	Section 62.207(b)(1) may not receive a grant under this section.
128	128	Sec. 62.209. USE OF ALLOCATED AMOUNTS. (a) An eligible
129	129	institution may use money received under this subchapter only for
130	130	the support and maintenance of educational and general activities
131	131	that promote increased capacity to award health care professional
132	132	degrees in a manner that aligns with the goals of the state's master
133	133	plan for higher education developed under Section 61.051.
134	134	(b) For purposes of Subsection (a), the use of money is
135	135	limited to the following permitted activities in health care
136	136	professional degree programs:
137	137	(1) increasing enrollment capacity;
138	138	(2) providing faculty support and paying faculty
139	139	salaries;
140	140	(3) purchasing equipment or library materials;
141	141	(4) awarding loan repayment guarantees to students
142	142	enrolled in graduate health care professional degree programs who
143	143	commit to teaching at general academic teaching institutions in
144	144	this state for at least four years after graduation;
145	145	(5) investing in clinical facilities or
146	146	administration for clinical placement programs that expand
147	147	enrollment capacity of undergraduate health care professional
148	148	degree programs; and
149	149	(6) increasing the number of graduates from health
150	150	care professional degree programs.
151	151	(c) Money received in a state fiscal year by an eligible
152	152	institution under this subchapter that is not used in that fiscal
153	153	year by the institution may be held and used by the institution in
154	154	subsequent state fiscal years for the purposes prescribed by this
155	155	section.
156	156	Sec. 62.210. DETERMINATION AND REPORT OF AMOUNT OF
157	157	DISTRIBUTIONS. For each state fiscal biennium, the Legislative
158	158	Budget Board, in consultation with the coordinating board, shall:
159	159	(1) determine the amount of each distribution from the
160	160	fund to which each eligible institution is entitled as provided by
161	161	this subchapter; and
162	162	(2) report the determinations made under Subdivision
163	163	(1) to the legislature and the comptroller.
164	164	Sec. 62.211. RULES. The coordinating board may adopt rules
165	165	as necessary to implement this subchapter.
166	166	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2026, but only
167	167	if the constitutional amendment proposed by the 89th Legislature,
168	168	Regular Session, 2025, establishing the Texas Health Care Workforce
169	169	Education Fund to provide funding to eligible institutions of
170	170	higher education to address Texas' health care workforce needs and
171	171	drive the state economy is approved by the voters. If that amendment
172	172	is not approved by the voters, this Act has no effect.