HBA-MPM S.B. 192 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisS.B. 192 By: Ogden Higher Education 3/29/1999 Engrossed BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, the Texas Constitution prohibits the granting of extra compensation to a state employee after service has been rendered. Some institutions of higher education have granted administrators long-term contracts which permit or require large cash settlements when the administrator resigns or leaves. Additionally, some administrators have been granted tenure without the same scrutiny given to other faculty or have been given salaries substantially higher than their peers. H.B. 192 provides restrictions on contracts between administrators and institutions of higher education with respect to these issues. 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 51.946, as follows: Sec. 51.946. RESTRICTIONS ON CONTRACTS WITH ADMINISTRATORS. (a) Authorizes the governing board (board) of an institution of higher education to enter into an employment contract with an administrator that is to be paid in whole or part from appropriated funds only if, before the date the contract is executed, the board determines that the contract is in the institution's best interest. (b) Prohibits a contract under this section from providing employment for more than three years, allowing for certain payment after termination of the contract, allow for certain developmental leave, or award tenure in a manner differing from the institution's tenure policy. (c) Prohibits an institution of higher education from paying a salary to a person who is reassigned from an administrative position to a faculty or other position at the institution that exceeds the salary of other persons with similar qualifications performing similar duties. (d) Provides that an institution of higher education is mandated to require an administrator receiving development leave to return to work at the institution for a certain amount of time and to repay the institution for all costs of the leave. (e) Provides that a record pertaining to a contract, including terms relating to the extension of any monetary or other consideration to an administrator in connection with the settlement, compromise, or other resolution of difference between the board and a current or former administrator is public information. Prohibits this information from being withheld from public disclosure. (f) Authorizes the board to grant development leave at a faculty member's regular salary for one year to a faculty member who has held an administrative position at the institution for more than four years, notwithstanding Subsection (b). (g) Defines for the purpose of this section the following terms: "administrator," "governing board," "institution of higher education," and "contract." SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 1999. Makes application of this Act prospective. SECTION 3. Emergency clause.