HBA-JLV H.B. 1127 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1127 By: Rangel Higher Education 7/17/2001 Enrolled BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE In some cases, full-time members of the faculty at public institutions of higher education, both non-tenured and tenured, have not received a contract or employment agreement from the administration until after the start of the academic year. Prior to the 77th Legislature, state law did not address the date by which an institution of higher education must issue a contract or employment agreement to faculty members. House Bill 1127 provides standards governing the dates by which institutions of higher education must issue contracts or employment agreements to full-time faculty members. 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 1127 amends the Education Code to require an institution of higher education (institution) that determines it is in the best interest to reappoint a faculty member for the next academic year to offer the faculty member a written contract for that academic year not later than 30 days before the first day of that academic year. The bill provides that an institution is not required to provide an annual contract to tenure or tenure-track faculty, but must provide tenure and tenure-track faculty with any written notification required in the institution's tenure policy of a change in a term of employment according to the policies of the institution, but no later than the 30th day prior to the change. The bill requires the institution to provide the faculty member with written notification that the institution is unable to offer a written contract by the required date. The bill also requires the institution to include in the written notification the reasons for the institution's inability to comply with the contract requirement, and to specify in the written notification a time by which the institution will offer a written contract to the faculty member for the applicable academic year. The bill provides that if the institution does not offer the faculty member a written contract before the 61st day after the first day of the academic year and the institution retains the faculty member for that academic year without a written contract, the institution must retain the faculty member for that academic year under terms that are at least as favorable as the terms governing the faculty member's employment and compensation for the preceding academic year. The bill does not prohibit an institution of higher education from entering into a contract with a faculty member for a period longer than an academic year. The bill does not provide a faculty member who does not hold tenure additional rights, privileges, or remedies or provide an expectation of continued employment beyond the period of a faculty member's current contract. EFFECTIVE DATE January 1, 2002.