Enrolled Bill Summary

            Senate Bill 1241 amends the Education Code to establish the Faculty Enhancement Fund for Generalist Physicians to attract generalist physicians to faculty posts at the state's medical schools through funding allocations for enhanced salaries for those positions. The act requires the Family Practice Residency Advisory Committee to review medical school applications for salary enhancement funds for generalist physician faculty posts, make recommendations to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, monitor compliance with conditions placed on awards, and evaluate the faculty enhancement program's success in increasing the number of generalist physicians on medical school faculties.

            Senate Bill 1241 limits program funding to full-time clinical faculty positions in family practice, general internal medicine, and general pediatrics at a faculty rank not higher than assistant professor. In making recommendations for the allocation of faculty positions to receive enhancement funding, the advisory committee must consider faculty-student ratios in the medical specialty at each medical school applying for funding, how long a budgeted faculty position has been open, whether the position is a new generalist faculty post, and other relevant factors.

            Once funds are awarded to support a medical school faculty post, the coordinating board must provide funds for that position for an additional academic year, after which time the medical school will be required to budget sufficient funds to maintain compensation for that position at the level attained through the enhancement. Senate Bill 1241 prohibits the coordinating board from spending more than 10 percent of the funds appropriated for the program in fiscal year 1998, and not more than five percent of the program's appropriation in subsequent fiscal years, for program administration.