HBA-MPM C.S.H.B. 2079 76(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 2079 By: Rangel Higher Education 4/16/1999 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Full-time faculty members at public institutions of higher education, both non-tenured and tenured, have voiced concern about not receiving a contract or employment agreement from the institution's administrative offices until after the start of the academic year, or in some cases, not at all. The date by which a contract or agreement is issued by the administration is at the administration's discretion. While state law does not make provisions for non-tenured and tenured faculty members at institutions of higher education regarding timely issuance of contracts or other agreement, Chapter 21, Texas Education Code, makes specific provisions for a public school teacher serving on a term contract to be informed of contract status within a certain time frame. C.S.H.B. 2079 provides standards governing time frames by which institutions of higher educations must issue faculty members a contract or agreement or provide them in writing with reasons why it is unable to comply with this provision. This bill also provides a penalty an institution of higher education is to pay a faculty member if it does not comply with the specified provisions. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Subchapter Z, Chapter 51, Education Code, by adding Section 51.943, as follows: Sec. 51.943. RENEWAL OF FACULTY EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS. (a) Defines "contract" as an agreement between an institution of higher education or its agent and a faculty member that establishes the terms of the faculty member's employment, including the faculty member's responsibilities and salary, for an academic year or other period. Defines "faculty member" as a person employed full-time by an institution of higher education as a faculty or staff member, including a professional librarian with specific duties. Provides that this term does not include a person who holds faculty rank but who spends a majority of the person's time for the institution engaged in managerial or supervisory activities, including a chancellor, vice chancellor, president, vice president, provost, associate or assistant provost, dean, or associate or assistant dean. Defines "institution of higher education" with the meaning assigned under Section 61.003 (Definitions), Education Code, where this term is defined as any public technical institute, public junior college, public senior college or university, medical or dental unit, or other agency of higher education as defined in that section. (b) Requires an institution of higher education (institution) that intends to retain a faculty member (member) for the next academic year (year) to offer the member a written contract for that year no later than the 60th day before the first day of the year. (c) Requires the institution to notify a member by letter sent by certified mail to the member's home address that the institution will not comply with Subsection (b), if it is unable to do so. Provides that the letter must state the reasons for the institution's inability to comply and requires it to specify a time by which the institution will offer a written contract to the member for the applicable academic year. (d) Provides that if the institution does not offer the member a written contract prior to the 61st day after the first day of the year and the member is retained for that year without a contract, the institution must retain the member under terms and conditions, including those governing the faculty member's compensation, that are at least a favorable to the faculty member a those governing the faculty member's employment for the preceding year. Makes an exception to this provision if the institution and member subsequently enter into a different written contract. Provides that the institution must also pay a member a penalty in an amount equal to 10 percent of the member's salary for the preceding year before the end of the current year, regardless of whether the institution and member eventually enter into a contract for the current year. (e) Provides that this section does not prohibit an institution of higher education from entering into a contract with a member for a period longer than a year. SECTION 2. Effective date: January 1, 2000. Makes application of this Act prospective. SECTION 3. Emergency clause. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE C.S.H.B. 2079 differs from the original bill in SECTION 1 (proposed Section 51.943(a), Education Code), by redefining "contract" as an agreement between an institution of higher education and its agent and a faculty member that establishes the terms of the faculty member's employment, including certain responsibilities and salary, rather than just responsibilities, for an academic year or other period. The substitute also redefines "faculty member" to remove the qualification that said person is not tenured. The substitute differs from the original in proposed Section 51.943(d) by requiring an institution of higher education, if it does not offer a faculty member a renewed contract within a certain period of time, to retain that faculty member for the academic year under terms and conditions, including those governing the faculty member's compensation, that are at least as favorable to the faculty member as those terms and conditions governing the faculty member's employment for the preceding academic year. The original bill required the institution to retain the faculty member under the same terms and conditions the faculty member enjoyed during the preceding academic year. The substitute also makes a conforming change.