Enrolled Bill Summary

            House Bill 1545 amends the Education Code and Government Code to give public colleges and universities greater flexibility regarding purchasing, human resources, financial management, and other administrative matters. Article 1 exempts public senior colleges and universities and university systems from certain state purchasing regulations and allows them to acquire goods and services using best value standards previously applicable only to medical and dental school purchasing. It also requires institutions to consider the impact on their compliance with laws regarding purchasing from persons with disabilities, and it allows their boards to insure institutions and their employees against liability or loss of property. Article 2 allows college and university governing boards to adopt comprehensive employee leave policies apart from state leave and holiday regulations, grant merit salary increases, compensate certain employees who work more than 40 hours a week with overtime pay rather than compensatory time off, hire certain retired public employees, and use electronic media to provide employees with certain written notices required by law. Article 3 deletes a provision that required The University of Texas System board of regents to secure an attorney general opinion on the title of certain real property before its transfer to the board, and it makes the nonprofit corporation created to manage permanent university fund investments subject to portions of the state open meetings law, with some exceptions. Article 4 minimizes duplicative reporting for public colleges and universities by requiring inter-agency memoranda of understanding that allow the colleges and universities to report building construction, maintenance, and leasing information in the most cost-effective manner. Article 5 exempts university systems and colleges and universities from state agency strategic planning requirements. Article 6 allows public colleges and universities that accept tuition payments by credit card to charge the credit card user a payment processing fee.