Issue 13: May 7, 2007

That Was Then …

Budgeting the Time, Timing the Budget

Budget Conference Committee Co-chairman Warren Chisum (Pampa) announced Thursday that each workgroup has been given a deadline to submit their recommendations to the full committee. The higher education section, Article 3, is scheduled to be discussed in full committee on Wednesday. Due to this being the full committee’s initial consideration of higher ed, many pending decisions likely will remain so.

The committee is targeting May 17th to complete all of its decisions on all 10 articles of HB 1, the General Appropriations Act. The current Article 11, the so-called “wish list,” does not appear in the final budget. The regular legislative session ends Monday, May 28.

The Art. 3 workgroup first met on Sunday to consider the higher ed budget and was to meet again this afternoon. Indications are that the members will go through various topics to get an overview of the big picture. If needed, follow-up sessions with individual schools may be arranged today or Tuesday to address specific questions or clarify matters.

Though they have not been announced officially, members of the workgroup are believed to be Sens. Robert Duncan (Lubbock) and Judith Zaffirini (Laredo), chair of the Senate Higher Education Subcommittee, and Reps. Lois Kolkhorst (Brenham), House Appropriations Education Subcommittee chair, Dan Branch (Dallas), Ruth Jones McClendon (San Antonio) and Myra Crownover (Denton).

The workgroup, which met Friday, has been slowly making its way through public education (K-12) appropriations. Unlike committee meetings, which are subject to notice requirements and open to the public, workgroup meetings are arranged more informally and tend to operate by invitation only.

On Thursday, the full Conference Committee adopted the Art. 8 working group recommendations for regulatory agencies. Decisions on several agencies were left pending entirely including the State Office of Administrative Hearings, State Board of Dental Examiners, Texas Medical Board, and the Office of Injured Employee Counsel. Each agency’s executive director salary also remains pending, so the committee may not decide on any salary increases until it discusses the merit and across-the-board salary issues included in the general provisions (Article 9). The committee also adopted the Senate’s version of the out-of-state travel cap riders (special instructions) in Art. 8, which are lower than the House’s version.

An overview of the two houses’ proposed budgets follows:

The UT System Controller’s Office has prepared a side-by-side comparison of the House and Senate versions of House Bill 1, as well as summaries of the House and Senate general revenue appropriations for UT institutions and System Administration.
View side-by-side comparison.
View UT GR summaries: House ll Senate

Budget documents now available online
Senate version:
• SCSHB 1 [note: 17 MB file]
• LBB summary
• Controller’s higher ed overview
• Frew amendment summary

House version:
• CSHB 1 [note: 18 MB file]
• LBB summary
House supplemental appropriations bill, HB 15

Fiscal Nuts and Budget Bolts

The budget-writing committees’ regular meeting times and places, clerks and phone numbers are:

House Appropriations – 8 a.m. Mondays (and upon House adjournment as needed) E1.030 (HAC Hearing Room, Capitol Extension 1st floor) Cristina Self, 463-1091

Senate Finance – 9 a.m. Mondays (and upon Senate adjournment as needed) E1.036 (SFC Hearing Room, Capitol Extension 1st floor) Amy Jeter, 463-0370

From session to session, the two houses alternate writing the initial version of the appropriations bill. The starting point this session has been HB 1, but both Finance and Appropriations, or their workgroups and subcommittees, respectively, have met almost daily. Now that the House and Senate each have approved spending plans, and the legislative leadership has appointed a 10-member conference committee, that group is meeting to reconcile the differences in the two proposed budgets. The committee will present a compromise bill to each both houses for approval.

 

Higher Ed Highlights

Let’s Make a Deal
Revamping the state’s automatic college admissions policy, aka the “top 10 percent law,” was anything but automatic Friday in the usually pro forma Senate.

After standing at ease for almost an hour, senators’ lengthy debate on the heavily negotiated SB 101 by Shapiro featured eight floor amendments, an unmiked confab with Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst in front of the dais, and a rare sustained parliamentary challenge. Three repeal attempts and a limit on non-resident admissions all failed, but a new financial incentive was added for schools opting into the two-tier automatic admissions limit, which was retained along with a system-wide admission guarantee for students denied their first preferences.

Under the cap, the first 50 percent of entering class slots go to top 10-percenters. The next 10 percent is allocated to them also, but through the same evaluation method as the remaining 40 percent (holistic review at UT Austin). Gone is the bill’s previous financial “carrot,” a $4 million lump-sum, across-the-board scholarship appropriation, in favor of a statutory tuition exemption for top 10-percent enrollees at capped schools. Coming close to inclusion was a designated tuition rate freeze for opt-in schools.

The Senate retained the committee version’s reporting and accountability measures, notification requirements to high schools and ninth-graders, and recruiting and outreach mandates. The entire package is now set to expire in 2015 when the law will revert to its current form, absent legislative intervention.

Acknowledging a division in the Senate requiring a compromise, Sen. Royce West (Dallas) argued that lawmakers should beware of changing the program’s philosophy after promising to reward all students for high performance. He likened it to the now-closed Texas Tomorrow Fund, which offered prepaid tuition contracts at fixed rates until it became actuarially insolvent. Sunsetting the cap and incentives is needed to ensure that colleges, chiefly UT Austin, continue to make good-faith efforts to diversify their student bodies, West said.

Themes of diversity and opportunity clashed with fairness and entitlement, and at times the exchanges were lively.

“Why 2015?” asked Sen. Jane Nelson (Lewisville), decrying the many overachieving students from mega-high schools she claimed are being denied admission for not making their classes’ 90th percentiles. West, who sees the law as working properly, explained, “It was the best I could get.”

“Have I got a deal for you,” Nelson said, suggesting an interim study of new alternatives with reevaluation in two years, tantamount to repeal. “I’ve already cut my deal,” West replied. Her amendment was tabled, 17-12; his went on, 21-9. The deal was holding.

Another key provision, however, almost went by the wayside. Sen. Steve Ogden (Bryan) wanted to exempt all eligible top 10-percenters from paying statutory tuition and fees. He said Texas needs to encourage and reward excellence, estimating the cost at $22.5 million a year. His amendment also allowed legislative reimbursement of any designated tuition exemptions schools gave top 10-percenters through a program administered by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

“This amendment looks like the top 10 percent law on steroids,” remarked Sen. Tommy Williams (The Woodlands), warning that it needed more scrutiny. Ogden assured him that the appropriations formulas for higher education would compensate for the exemptions, adding, “There are no black helicopters in this amendment.”

Nevertheless, Ogden’s amendment failed to launch when Dewhurst ruled it was not germane following a point of order raised by Sen. Jeff Wentworth (San Antonio). Wentworth withdrew it, however, when Ogden instead applied the statutory tuition exemption only to students at schools employing the cap. The revised amendment was adopted, 26-4.

The deal also withstood an outright repeal attempt by Sen. Kel Seliger (Amarillo) and a different sunset amendment plus a proposed reduction in non-resident admissions, both by Sen. Dan Patrick (Houston). Williams then played his wild card, a freeze on designated tuition for opt-in schools at the previous year’s rates.

Williams compared it to the incremental approach being taken to address top 10 percent law concerns. But Sen. Florence Shapiro (Plano) drew the line in defending the committee substitute by Sen. Judith Zaffirini (Laredo). Acknowledging that tuition deregulation is an issue “that lights your hair on fire,” Shapiro insisted that this bill was not the proper vehicle for re-regulation and unfairly singled out UT Austin.

Williams agreed with her assertion that adopting his amendment meant the Legislature would have to come up with more money for higher education. But he argued that could be done through the growth-oriented formulas, noting that SB 101 is permissive and also aimed at UT Austin.

Shapiro’s attempt to kill Williams’ amendment failed, 17-10. But he withdrew it after West, who also opposes tuition flexibility, spoke against it as politically inexpedient. The bill passed on second reading without objection and 29-1 on third reading. The big deal of the day now goes to the House.

Watch the video [beg. 4:17:45]

 

Moving Right Along

The Senate last week approved funding and contribution changes to the Teacher Retirement System (TRS). In amending SB 1846 by Duncan, the Senate authorized lower contribution rates paid by both the state and active members (6.3 percent as opposed to the current 6.4 percent rate in the base bill, if the fund is actuarially sound). Other amendments cap at 1 percent school districts’ contribution to the TRS Care method of finance, to which higher ed is not subject due to its Social Security benefits treatment. The bill allows additional benefits for TRS annuitants, but caps the dollar amount of the so-called “13th check.” SB 1846 has been referred to the House Pensions and Investments Committee.

What’s been touted as the first Hispanic father-son tandem in Texas legislative history teamed up last week to pass the UT Brownsville student athletics fee bill. Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. had HB 1505 by Rep. Eddie Lucio III amended to allow a rate phase-in beginning in 2008, which had become something of a sticking point. UTB and Texas Southmost College have joined the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, primarily to compete in soccer. The fee, capped at $7 per semester credit hour, will pay for athletic programs and allow reallocation of portions of the student services fee. Senators delayed the proceedings briefly Thursday until hijo could appear con papa, both of whom were duly lauded and extolled, but sans pinata.

Other bills of interest passed last week by the Senate include:

• SB 1051 (Zaffirini) – exempting joint-degree program college students from U.S./Texas history and government courses (mostly at UT Austin)

• SB 114 (Van de Putte) – including independent retailers in college textbook list distribution and student access and marketing opportunities afforded university-affiliated bookstores

• SJR 61 (Duncan) as amended – allowing formula funding from the Higher Education Assistance Fund for major repair and rehabilitation projects and eliminating the requirement that the annual automatic appropriation end when the fund corpus reaches $2 billion

• SB 365 (Nelson) – creating a distance learning grant program for health professional students

• SB 1023 (West) – limiting use of Texas Enterprise Fund monies to recipients providing health benefit plans to their employees

• SB 1144 (Deuell) – reporting requirements for health plans participating in Medicaid

• SB 1391 (Uresti) as amended – requirements in certain health benefit plans that certain health care services be obtained in a foreign country

• HB 66 (Watson/Leibowitz) -- power management software for state agencies

The House last week passed HB 3900 by Morrison creating the Texas Tomorrow Fund II prepaid tuition unit undergraduate education program. It is to be administered by the Prepaid Higher Education Tuition Board, which underwent sunset review last year (see list below) and also oversees the moribund Texas Tomorrow Fund. The bill was amended to allow participants in other states’ “529” college savings plans to transfer into the program; add hiring criteria for the plan manager; and subject the program to scrutiny by the State Auditor’s Office.

Other bills of interest passed last week by the House include:

• HB 2173 (B. Cook) – continuing the functions of the Prepaid Higher Education Tuition Board

• HB 3430 (Strama) – creating a single, searchable, central database on Texas Online containing information on all state expenditures

• HB 42 (Paxton) – requiring the posting of data about major state contracts to an electronic database maintained by the Legislative Budget Board

• HJR 30 (Jackson) – proposing a constitutional amendment allowing the repurchase of real property acquired by a governmental entity through eminent domain

• HB 3560 (Swinford) – transferring the primary duties of the Texas Building and Procurement Commission to the Comptroller’s Office and the Department of Information Resources

• SB 1694 by Nelson – enhancing enforcement of fraud and abuse restrictions and criminal offenses involving the Medicaid program

• SB 1461 by Seliger – granting the governor contracting authority and setting forth indemnification requirements relative to the FutureGen clean-coal energy demonstration project

• HB 1238 by Noriega – allowing higher ed institutions to require student health centers to file insurance claims for services provided to students or other center users covered by private health insurance

• HB 1412 by McReynolds – making permanent and authorizing funding for the pilot regional emergency medical dispatch resource centers program at UTMB

• SB 1447 by Duncan – broadening the Teacher Retirement System’s investment authority to include alternative investments

The House Higher Education Committee discussed two bills last Monday dealing primarily with money, one for non-faculty pay raises and another for financial aid to transfer students.

CSHB 1782 by Donna Howard requires higher ed institutions with pay-for-performance programs to distribute across-the-board (ATB) appropriations for salary increases equitably to non-faculty positions. Only amounts specifically appropriated for raises would be subject to this requirement. Schools with such programs have the option to apply state-mandated pay hikes to merit raises. The bill as filed would have repealed that discretion. The substitute, according to Rep. Howard (Austin), has been reworded so as not to penalize UTMB and M.D. Anderson, which has the lowest proportion of general revenue in its budget of any public higher ed institution in the state. Three union employees, two of whom work at UT Austin, lamented that past ATB raises were not received by all staff. They said pay-for-performance programs create inequities and foster arbitrary salary decisions by supervisors. Caroline O’Connor of the Texas State Employees Union noted that the 2005 ATB raise was the first not applicable to higher ed. She observed that previous legislatures have expected higher ed to fund raises with money other than appropriations that typically is not available to other state agencies.

The House version of the proposed 2008-09 budget contains 2.5 percent annual pay raises (with $75 monthly minimums) for all non-faculty state employees, except those at public community and junior colleges, for each year of the biennium. The raises are in the unfunded “wish list,” however (Article 11). The Senate version includes $112 million for a merit pay pool equal to 1 percent of payroll and $64 million for an additional 1 percent at certain agencies with special employee compensation needs, according to the LBB.

HB 1249 by Villareal would make Toward EXcellence And Success (TEXAS) Grants available to community college students who transfer to universities. Such students currently have smaller amounts of financial aid available, according to Rep. Mike Villareal (San Antonio), because of eligibility requirements and TEXAS Grants’ guaranteed renewal policy. His bill would allow them to compete with students at four-year schools, even if they receive Texas Educational Opportunity Grants. A THECB official said the bill would increase the number of eligible students not receiving grants. Rep. Jimmie Don Aycock (Killeen) suggested that community college students should get top priority. Villareal said financial aid should benefit all students, not favor one group over another.

Both bills were left pending.

Last week the committee reported favorably HB 2225 by Giddings, which would require a student representative on the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB). The selection process and powers and duties of the student representative would be similar to those of student regents under current law. The student representative could attend and participate in board meetings but not vote or make any motions. The student representative would not count toward determining a quorum. The panel also voted out HB 2702 by Truitt, which would clarify that a tuition exemption for students adopted out of foster care under an assistance agreement does not apply to international adoptions. Both bills were recommended for the Local and Consent Calendar. The panel reported favorably a committee substitute for HB 1431 by Alonzo establishing a Sustainable Water Supply Research Center at UT Arlington. The latest version still is unavailable online, however.

View the agenda ll Watch the video

The Senate Education Committee approved confidential evaluations of top higher ed executives Tuesday, but not without some reservations and dissent. Sen. Kyle Janek (Houston) urged caution despite voting to report CSSB 1045 by Wentworth favorably. Janek said elected officials need to have access to presidents’ and chancellors’ evaluations, especially if colleges were failing. Sen. Dan Patrick (Houston) cast the lone nay vote, arguing that one group of public officials should not be shielded from public scrutiny. He expressed concern over whether other state agency heads are treated the same way in such personnel matters. The exception to disclosure also would apply to the higher education commissioner.

Also reported favorably last week were four public education bills of interest:
• SB 1016 (West) – providing a method for assessing the annual improvement in achievement of public school students on certain assessment instruments

• HB 1270 (Eissler) – allocating up to $6 million for an intensive reading and language intervention pilot program at certain public school campuses

• HB 1922 (Kolkhorst) – moving forward the eligibility date for school districts to receive state assistance with payment of existing bond debt service

• HB 208 (Flores) – maintaining eligibility of students enrolled in joint credit or concurrent enrollment programs for extracurricular activities and University Interscholastic League competitions

View Tuesday’s agenda ll Watch hearings videos:
Part 1 ll Part 2

Last Monday, Sen. Eddie Lucio (Brownsville) modified his requests for two new UT System graduate schools in presenting bills before the Senate Higher Education Subcommittee. The substitutes for both SB 420, which would authorize a health science center in the Rio Grande Valley, and SB 1400, which would create a law school at UT Brownsville, now are permissive. That means that they allow, but do not require or direct, the Board of Regents to set up the schools. Nevertheless, former Chancellor William Cunningham testified in favor of both proposals and called for further study. UT Austin President William Powers, former UT Law School dean, advocated for a new law school without specifying where it should be located. Lucio said that a medical school should be added to the Regional Academic Health Center due to the area’s critical health care needs and shortages of physicians and other professionals. The area also is underserved legally, he said, and a law school would help increase the amount of available legal representation.

On Friday, the subcommittee reported both bills favorably to the Education Committee, along with:
• HB 125 (Delisi/Van de Putte) – including the children of military personnel totally disabled as a result of their service in the state's Hazlewood tuition exemption program

• HB 1187 (Morrison/Van de Putte) – requiring the Veterans Commission to establish a $25 voucher program for students who sound "Taps" during military honors funerals for deceased veterans

• HB 741 (T. King/Zaffirini) – tuition and fee exemptions for the children of volunteer peace officers disabled or killed in the line of duty

Still pending is SB 1029 by Shapiro that would create a framework, based on the model in the Governor's Higher Education Reform Proposal, for distributing performance incentive funding to institutions of higher education. Shapiro reported Monday that Sen. Kip Averitt (Waco) is drafting an amendment requiring schools to use historical data to establish performance baselines to which rewards for improvement would be tied.

View Monday's agenda
Watch/listen to hearings: Monday ll Friday

Miscellany

On Tuesday, the Senate passed a major contracting reform bill, SB 769 by Sen. Judith Zaffirini (Laredo), the principal provisions of which do not apply to colleges or universities. Zaffirini explained that higher ed contracts, especially those at health-related institutions, differ from those awarded by most other state agencies. In explaining the exclusion, she also noted the large number of higher ed contracts and the compliance cost involved, acknowledging that it also was necessary in order to garner support.

Also excluded are the Texas Department of Transportation and Health and Human Services Commission enrollment contracts.

Sen. Jane Nelson (Lewisville) said she would prefer to include everyone. Ethics provisions contained in similar bills filed in previous sessions also have been removed, Zaffirini noted, but review requirements and other safeguards remain to ensure consistent pricing for the same products and services.

The bill creates a contract management office to oversee contracts worth $10 million or more or that would eliminate at least 100 existing state jobs. Part of the rationale for the office, Zaffirini said, is to keep track of how many state contracts are awarded each year. She said the office will help develop expertise so that individual employees will not be negotiating with private sector experts.

SB 769 also sets up an outsourcing process that precludes outsourcing for “inherently governmental functions” involving governmental authority or discretion. The bill has been referred to the House State Affairs Committee.

On Friday, the Senate Finance Committee voted to create 10-day sales tax holidays in August and January for books purchased by college students presenting valid identification. SB 49 would take effect on July 1 if it passes with two-thirds votes of both houses; otherwise, on October 1, 2007. The Legislative Budget Board (LBB) staff estimated the cost at more than $62 million in general revenue through fiscal year (FY) 2009.

Witnesses testified that the targeted holiday makes sense for college students and their families in light of the broader one designed to benefit parents of schoolchildren. The temporary exemption would help offset higher tuition, rising textbook prices and growing debt, students said. Much of the savings would be spent locally, witnesses predicted, and the exemption would help make local “brick-and-mortar” retailers more competitive with online sellers who typically do not charge sales taxes.

SB 49 is on Monday’s Senate Intent Calendar.

Apparently in response to the burgeoning national student financial aid investigation, three senators introduced three similar bills Wednesday aimed at addressing conflict of interest issues arising from the scandal.

SB 2047 by West would prohibit higher ed institutions and employees from accepting gifts or remuneration for board service from, or sharing revenue with, student loan lenders. It sets civil penalties. SB 2048 by Shapleigh would prohibit financial aid employee stock ownership in and gift acceptance from student loan lenders. It authorizes disciplinary action and/or dismissal. SB 2049 by Zaffirini also prohibits any revenue sharing between institutions and lenders, including contracts giving schools percentages of principal amounts of loans directed to lenders by borrowers. The bill also prohibits gifts or remuneration to schools for recommending lenders or to employees for serving on lenders’ advisory boards. Unlike the other two bills, however, SB 2049 authorizes no penalties or sanctions for violations.

All three bills have been referred to the Senate Higher Ed Subcommittee, chaired by Zaffirini.

…This Is Now

 

If It’s Monday, It’s Higher Ed

Scheduled to be heard by the Senate Higher Education Subcommittee today are two fee bills affecting UT System institutions. HB 868 by Haggerty would raise the recreational facility fee at UT El Paso from $12 per student to $70 per student for a long term or semester, or $50 for any other term or semester, beginning in the fall 2007. Any increase must be approved in a student referendum. The fee would be capped at $20 per student per semester prior to fall 2009. HB 1157 by West would authorize a student services building fee at UT Permian Basin not to exceed $150 for each regular semester. The fee may not be increased by more than 10 percent unless approved in a student referendum.

Also to be considered is an attempt to rejuvenate the state’s savings program for paying for college education. CSHB 3900 by Morrison would create the Texas Tomorrow Fund II as a trust fund outside the State Treasury. The program would sell prepaid tuition contracts that could be used at private, independent and out-of-state higher ed institutions, not just Texas public colleges and universities. Investors purchasing 100 “units,” equal to 100 percent of costs, would be guaranteed to have tuition paid in full upon redemption. They would have to make up the difference, however, if they purchase fewer than 100 units or purchase units for a lesser of one of the three tiers of institutions. Investors also may “cash out” unused units. Institutions would have to make up any difference between costs at the time of redemption and the value of 100 units if costs have risen faster than the investment return on the units.

View the agenda ll Watch the hearing

Among the bills before the House Higher Education Committee today are four that address the statewide nursing shortage, all by Nelson. SB 138 would direct the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) to study and develop ways to retain nursing students and increase nursing student graduation rates, including recommendations on financial aid. Schools with a graduation rate of 85 percent or more would receive special recognition. SB 139 would direct the THECB, in consultation with the Board of Nurse Examiners, to study ways in which nursing school curricula may be improved, specifically focusing on improving patient care-related instruction and including recommended methods. A report of the study is due by December 31, 2008, and higher ed institutions having professional or vocational nursing programs are to receive copies. SB 289 modifies the THECB’s Professional Nursing Shortage Reduction Program by allowing grant recipients to use part-time faculty to provide clinical instruction for the increased nursing school enrollment, not just preceptors. SB 201 broadens and eases requirements for claiming and using the tuition exemption for clinical nursing preceptors.

Also set for hearing Monday are:

• SB 276 (Wentworth) – modifying the student regent selection process

• SB 285 (Shapiro) – authorizing three new student fees at UT Dallas for transportation (bus service), a student services building, and intramural and intercollegiate athletics

• SB 1232 (Zaffirini) – authorizing the Board of Regents to establish payment plans for tuition and fees and modifying terms for emergency loans, including electronic agreements under the plan instead of written promissory notes and an origination fee of up to 1.25 percent of loan amounts; and clarifying that students are not entitled to emergency loans equal to the full amount of tuition and fees

• SB 1325 (West) – prohibiting scholarships originating from and administered by an institution of higher education or university system to students related to current members of the board of regents, with certain exceptions

View the agenda ll Watch the hearing

The Senate Education Committee will be asked to act locally but think globally Tuesday in considering HCR 159 (Morrison), which would request that the governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker create a select commission on higher education and global competitiveness. The commission would draft a Texas Compact reflecting a long-term vision and step-by-step plan to attain certain goals by 2020. It also would examine the effect of tuition deregulation and higher tuition rates on participation in higher education, and whether tuition deregulation and higher tuition rates have adversely affected participation in higher education by minority or rural students. The commission would be composed of 15 members, with the governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker each appointing five members from business, academia, and other areas with interest in higher education and workforce needs. The membership would have to reflect the state’s demographic diversity.

Among the other bills to be heard Tuesday are:
• SB 420 (Lucio) – allowing a health science center and medical school in the Rio Grande Valley

• HB 125 (Delisi/Van de Putte) – including the children of military personnel totally disabled as a result of their service in the state's Hazlewood tuition exemption program

• HB 741 (T. King/Zaffirini) – granting tuition and fee exemptions for the children of volunteer peace officers disabled or killed in the line of duty

View the agenda ll Watch the hearing

St. Elsewhere

Other committees hearing bills of interest this week include:
[click on committee name to view agenda]

HOUSE
State Affairs
• SB 1306 (Wentworth) – exempting from the Open Meetings Act a gathering of a numerical quorum of a governmental body at a ceremonial event or press conference if formal action is not taken or discussion of public business is incidental to the gatherings

• SJR 49 (Jackson) – proposing a constitutional amendment prohibiting an appointed officeholder subject to Senate confirmation and whose term of office expires during a regular legislative session from continuing to perform the duties of office after the 30th day after the person's term expires

Defense Affairs and State-Federal Relations
• SB 1454 (Van de Putte) – requiring state institutions of higher education to comply with veterans’ employment preferences if they are eligible for the preference, meet the minimum qualifications for the job, and no other applicant has greater qualifications for the position

Public Education
• SB 4 (Shapiro) – setting higher academic and operational standards for granting school charters and new criteria for revocation


SENATE
State Affairs
• SB 1652 (Ellis) – making governmental units liable for personal injury and death caused by their negligence as if the units were private persons

• HB 1497 (Van Arsdale) – allowing governmental bodies to consider public information requests withdrawn if officials send written requests for clarification or discussion to requestors and no written or oral response is received within 61 days

• SB 2039 (Ellis) – authorizing the governor to abolish the governing body of a general academic institution or university system, upon a finding of financial or administrative exigency by the Legislative Audit Committee or the governor, and to appoint an interim governing board with the advice and consent of the Senate

Government Organization
• HB 2426 (Truitt) – sunset bill continuing the Board of Nurse Examiners and making various administrative and programmatic changes

• HB 2427 (Truitt) – sunset bill continuing the Teacher Retirement System of Texas and making various administrative changes

Health and Human Services
• HB 321 (Delisi) – authorizing a pilot program in at least one urban area to determine the feasibility, costs, and benefits of establishing a collaborative electronic system between a local or regional indigent care system and the Health and Human Services Commission

Jurisprudence
• SCR 65 (Jackson) – Granting former patient Betty Bardwell permission to sue UTMB, the State of Texas, and the Attorney General

Your Hit Parade

Bills of interest scheduled for full House consideration include:

Monday
• HB 2006 (Woolley) – changing procedures in condemnation proceedings and the price at which a person could repurchase condemned property if the use did not begin or continue during the applicable time periods

• HB 1066 (Delisi) – establishing the Texas Health Services Authority Corporation to oversee the maintenance of electronic medical records, developing performance standards, and administering the operation of a statewide electronic health information network

• HB 3826 (Morrison) – requiring all college applicants from Texas public high schools to successfully complete the curriculum requirements of the recommended or advanced high school programs

• HJR 90 (Keffer) – proposing a constitutional amendment authorizing the establishment of the Cancer Research Institute of Texas and the issuance of general obligation bonds for the purpose of scientific research on all forms of human cancer

• HB 3443 (D. Howard) – creating the Texas Hospital-Based Nursing Education Partnership Grant Program

• HB 2100 (Haggerty) – authorizing the joint construction of a medical facility to house inmates released on medically recommended intensive supervision and a contract with a private vendor to provide treatment services

• HB 14 (Keffer) – abolishing the Texas Cancer Council, creating the Cancer Research Institute of Texas, and authorizing bond issuance

• HB 2564 (Hancock) – authorizing a governmental body to require the payment of a charge before complying with certain requests for the production of public information or for copies of public information

• HB 3109 (B. Cook) – authorizing the governor to contract with the FutureGen Industrial Alliance for a clean-coal technology energy demonstration project

• HB 2158 (McReynolds) – modifying reporting regarding nurse conduct, including a new plan for report management involving peer review and patient safety committees, and reducing the role of the Texas Board of Nurse Examiners in some cases

• HB 3110 (B. Cook) – specifying indemnification requirements relating to the FutureGen clean-coal technology energy demonstration project

• HB 2248 (Van Arsdale) – providing legal recourse for state agencies when a requestor withdraws an open records request during litigation, resulting in dismissal of the lawsuit, and then resubmits the request

• HB 2694 (Hamilton) – denoting the circumstances under which state and local agencies may seek additional disaster contingency funding beyond regularly appropriated funds to offset costs incurred in response to a disaster

• HB 888 (Giddings) – requiring a health care provider to provide free copies of an injured employee's medical records on written request of a Workers' Compensation Division ombudsman who is assisting an injured employee

• HB 2365 (Truitt) – allowing but not requiring the state and political subdivisions to account for and report financial activities on a "statutory modified accrual basis" for government-wide and fund-level internal and external financial reporting

• HB 2237 (Eissler) – requiring the State Board of Education to incorporate college readiness standards into the essential knowledge and skills of the foundation curriculum for certain 12th grade courses and authorizing the education commissioner to provide high school grants to implement comprehensive high school completion and success initiatives

• HB 3828 (Morrison) – authorizing incentive funding for higher education with separate incentive funding programs for general academic teaching institutions, community colleges, and medical and dental units using a point system to allocate funds in proportion to the number of points earned

Tuesday
• HB 3851 (Morrison) – requiring the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to adopt rules establishing a standard method for computing a student's high school grade point average (GPA) for admission purposes

• HB 3037 (Rose) – creating a state family medical leave act, based in part on the federal law, and applicable to all employers with at least 50 employees, including state agencies and institutions of higher education

Access House calendars

Bills of interest eligible for full Senate consideration include:
• SB 49 (Zaffirini) – sales tax holiday for books purchased by college students

• SB 922 (Watson) – authorizing two or more counties to form regional health care programs to provide health care services to the employees of small employers within those counties

• SB 1045 (Wentworth) – making personnel evaluations of college and university presidents and system chancellors confidential

• SB 1095 (Uresti) – requiring the Texas Medical Board to study increasing the number of medical residency programs, medical residents and physicians practicing medical specialties in Texas

• SB 1847 (Duncan) – increasing the member contribution rate of the Employees Retirement System for their retirement benefits from 6 percent to 6.4 percent

• SB 2031 (Ogden) – requiring legislative consent or approval of the settlement or compromise of a claim or action against the state that will involve state expenditures exceeding $5 million per settlement or $10 million during a biennium for a course of action resulting from a settlement

Access Senate agendas

Session Snapshot

 

Week	18
Days Remaining	22
Bills/Joint Resolutions Filed*	6,353
Bills/Joint Resolutions Passed**
>House	838
>Senate	870
Bills Enacted*	135
Legislation Tracked	1,902
High Priority Bills	369

*Incl. SCR 20 (constl. spending limit)
**By each house

The bill filing deadline was March 9, the 60th day of the session. To file a bill now requires a four-fifths vote of the members present in either house, and several bills have been introduced this way. As of last week, the Senate has joined the House in meeting on Fridays. Committee hearings are beginning to subside as floor action becomes crucial to moving bills through the process. Today is the last day for House committees to report House bills. Thursday is the last day the House can pass non-consent House bills on second reading. Other legislative deadlines and important dates may be found at Key Legislative Dates.

House Committees’ permanent meeting schedules

Senate Committees’ permanent meeting schedules

Duly Noted

“When I die, I’m still gonna be committed for another 30 or 40 years. … I’m hopin’ that I go to Heaven and that Sprint goes to Hell so they can’t get me.”

Rep. John Smithee (Amarillo) lamenting the terms of his cell phone contract during floor debate Tuesday on HB 3928, the business margins tax “clean-up” bill