HBA-EDN, JLV H.B. 1014 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1014
By: McReynolds
Higher Education
3/5/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

According to the American Association of University Professors, the faculty
salaries at public universities in Texas are lower on average than faculty
salaries of public universities in the other ten most populous states.
Less competitive salaries may make Texas universities less attractive to
prospective faculty and may cause the state to lose qualified instructors
to states willing to grant greater compensation.  The retention of veteran
instructors may also suffer as institutions increase salaries to entice
prospective faculty but do not increase the salaries for current employees.
Instructor recruitment efforts may help Texas cope with the expected rise
in enrollment and the legislature's efforts to increase educational access.
House Bill 1014 requires institutions of higher education to analyze their
faculty compensation policies and implement a plan to reallocate existing
resources to address faculty compensation deficiencies. 

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. 

ANALYSIS

House Bill 1014 amends the Education Code to require the governing board of
each institution of higher education (governing board) to perform a
comparative analysis between faculty compensation policies of tenured and
tenure-track faculty at institutions of higher education of this state and
at public higher education institutions in the 10 most populous states not
later than August 31st of each fiscal year.  The governing board is
required to determine whether the average compensation of tenured or
tenure-track faculty  is less than the average compensation for similar
faculty at public institutions of higher education. The bill requires the
governing board to consider faculty compensation at institutions of the
same category and also requires the governing board to make a separate
determination for each faculty rank.   

If the governing board determines that the average compensation of faculty
at a particular rank at the institution is less than the average
compensation for faculty provided by other states, the board is required to
report that determination and other relevant data to the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board (coordinating board).  The bill also requires
the governing board to adopt a program to reallocate available resources in
a manner that reduces the percentage difference between the average
compensation of each faculty rank by 25% in the current state fiscal
biennium and in each of the following three so that at the end of the
fourth biennium the average compensation at the institution is equal or
greater to the average compensation provided by other states.  If fewer
than four fiscal bienniums are remaining before September 1, 2009, the
governing board is required to adopt the program to reduce the percentage
difference by 25% in each fiscal biennium before September 1, 2009. 

The bill requires each governing board to report its progress in remedying
faculty compensation deficiencies to the Legislative Budget Board, the
governor's office of budget and planning, and the coordinating board. The
bill requires the coordinating board, in recommending funding formulas for
appropriations, to account for any salary increases required to be made at
those higher education institutions.  The provisions of this bill expire
September 1, 2009. 
 
EFFECTIVE DATE

January 1, 2002.