HBA-EDN C.S.H.B. 2268 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 2268 By: Bailey Higher Education 4/27/2001 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Current law provides a personal leave day program for public school employees. There is no such program for faculty at institutions of higher education. Permitting faculty members at institutions of higher education to use some of their sick days as personal leave days may help increase faculty retention rates. C.S.H.B. 2268 requires the governing board of each institution of higher education to adopt a policy permitting faculty members to use a certain number of sick leave days as personal leave days in each academic year. 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 C.S.H.B. 2268 amends the Education Code to require the governing board of each institution of higher education (governing board) to adopt a policy permitting faculty members to use five sick leave days as personal leave days in each academic year, and to authorize the governing board to permit faculty members to use more than five sick leave days as personal leave days in each academic year. The bill prohibits a faculty member from using sick leave as personal leave until the faculty member has accumulated a number of sick leave days equal to or greater than the number of personal leave days requested. The bill authorizes the governing board to adopt a policy regulating a faculty member's use of sick leave as personal leave if the policy does not restrict the purposes for which the personal leave may be used. The bill requires the governing board to develop an appropriate form for the use of sick leave days as personal leave days . EFFECTIVE DATE On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act takes effect September 1, 2001. The Act applies beginning with the 2001-2002 academic year. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE C.S.H.B. 2268 modifies the original by requiring the governing board of an institution of higher education (governing board) to adopt a policy permitting faculty members to use sick leave days as personal leave days, rather than requiring each institution to adopt a minimum personal leave program. The substitute removes the prohibition against a faculty member carrying forward unused personal leave.