1-1           By:  Ogden                                       S.B. No. 537

 1-2           (In the Senate - Filed February 11, 1997; February 17, 1997,

 1-3     read first time and referred to Committee on Education;

 1-4     March 10, 1997, reported favorably, as amended, by the following

 1-5     vote:  Yeas 11, Nays 0; March 10, 1997, sent to printer.)

 1-6     COMMITTEE AMENDMENT NO. 1                               By:  Sibley

 1-7     Amend S.B. No. 537 as follows:

 1-8           On page 1, line 32, insert ", Section 51.105" after

 1-9     "Subchapter C" and before the semicolon.

1-10                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

1-11                                   AN ACT

1-12     relating to contracts with and compensation of administrators of

1-13     public institutions of higher education.

1-14           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

1-15           SECTION 1.  Subchapter Z, Chapter 51, Education Code, is

1-16     amended by adding Section 51.945 to read as follows:

1-17           Sec. 51.945.  RESTRICTIONS ON CONTRACTS WITH ADMINISTRATORS.

1-18     (a)  The governing board of an institution of higher education may

1-19     enter into an employment contract with an administrator that is to

1-20     be paid in whole or in part from appropriated funds only if, before

1-21     the date the contract is executed, the governing board determines

1-22     that the contract is in the best interest of the institution.

1-23           (b)  A contract entered into by a governing board under this

1-24     section may not:

1-25                 (1)  provide for employment for more than three years;

1-26                 (2)  allow for severance or other payments on the

1-27     termination of the contract to exceed an amount equal to the

1-28     discounted net present cash value of the contract on termination at

1-29     a market interest rate agreed upon in the contract;

1-30                 (3)  allow for development leave, unless the leave is

1-31     granted under the same terms and conditions as apply to faculty

1-32     members of the institution under Subchapter C; or

1-33                 (4)  award tenure in any way that varies from the

1-34     institution's general policy on the award of tenure.

1-35           (c)  An institution of higher education may not pay a salary

1-36     to a person who is reassigned from an administrative position to a

1-37     faculty or other position at the institution that exceeds the

1-38     salary of other persons with similar qualifications performing

1-39     similar duties.

1-40           (d)  An institution of higher education must require an

1-41     administrator who receives development leave to:

1-42                 (1)  return to work at the institution for an amount of

1-43     time equal to the amount of time the administrator received

1-44     development leave; or

1-45                 (2)  pay the institution for all the costs of the

1-46     development leave, including the amount of the administrator's

1-47     salary, if any, paid during the leave.

1-48           (e)  A record that pertains to a contract between an

1-49     institution and an administrator, including terms relating to an

1-50     amount of money the institution has paid or agreed to pay or the

1-51     extension of any monetary or other consideration to an

1-52     administrator in connection with the settlement, compromise, or

1-53     other resolution of any difference between the institution or

1-54     governing body and a current or former administrator is public

1-55     information and may not be withheld from public disclosure.

1-56           (f)  In this section:

1-57                 (1)  "Administrator" means a person that has

1-58     significant administrative duties relating to the operation of the

1-59     institution, including the operation of a department, college,

1-60     program, or other subdivision of the institution.

1-61                 (2)  "Governing board" and "institution of higher

1-62     education" have the meanings assigned by Section 61.003.

1-63           SECTION 2.  (a) This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

 2-1           (b)  The change in law made by this Act applies only to a

 2-2     contract entered into on or after the effective date of this Act.

 2-3           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the

 2-4     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

 2-5     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

 2-6     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

 2-7     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.

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