HBA-EDN, JLV H.B. 1014 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1014 By: McReynolds Higher Education 3/5/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE According to the American Association of University Professors, the faculty salaries at public universities in Texas are lower on average than faculty salaries of public universities in the other ten most populous states. Less competitive salaries may make Texas universities less attractive to prospective faculty and may cause the state to lose qualified instructors to states willing to grant greater compensation. The retention of veteran instructors may also suffer as institutions increase salaries to entice prospective faculty but do not increase the salaries for current employees. Instructor recruitment efforts may help Texas cope with the expected rise in enrollment and the legislature's efforts to increase educational access. House Bill 1014 requires institutions of higher education to analyze their faculty compensation policies and implement a plan to reallocate existing resources to address faculty compensation deficiencies. 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 House Bill 1014 amends the Education Code to require the governing board of each institution of higher education (governing board) to perform a comparative analysis between faculty compensation policies of tenured and tenure-track faculty at institutions of higher education of this state and at public higher education institutions in the 10 most populous states not later than August 31st of each fiscal year. The governing board is required to determine whether the average compensation of tenured or tenure-track faculty is less than the average compensation for similar faculty at public institutions of higher education. The bill requires the governing board to consider faculty compensation at institutions of the same category and also requires the governing board to make a separate determination for each faculty rank. If the governing board determines that the average compensation of faculty at a particular rank at the institution is less than the average compensation for faculty provided by other states, the board is required to report that determination and other relevant data to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (coordinating board). The bill also requires the governing board to adopt a program to reallocate available resources in a manner that reduces the percentage difference between the average compensation of each faculty rank by 25% in the current state fiscal biennium and in each of the following three so that at the end of the fourth biennium the average compensation at the institution is equal or greater to the average compensation provided by other states. If fewer than four fiscal bienniums are remaining before September 1, 2009, the governing board is required to adopt the program to reduce the percentage difference by 25% in each fiscal biennium before September 1, 2009. The bill requires each governing board to report its progress in remedying faculty compensation deficiencies to the Legislative Budget Board, the governor's office of budget and planning, and the coordinating board. The bill requires the coordinating board, in recommending funding formulas for appropriations, to account for any salary increases required to be made at those higher education institutions. The provisions of this bill expire September 1, 2009. EFFECTIVE DATE January 1, 2002.