| TO: | Honorable Judith Zaffirini, Chair, Senate Committee on Higher Education |
| FROM: | John S. O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | HB746 by Brown, Fred (Relating to expanding the availability of classrooms and other facilities for use by public colleges and universities.), As Engrossed |
| Fiscal Year | Probable Net Positive/(Negative) Impact to General Revenue Related Funds |
|---|---|
| 2010 | ($158,780) |
| 2011 | ($137,278) |
| 2012 | ($137,278) |
| 2013 | ($137,278) |
| 2014 | ($137,278) |
| Fiscal Year | Probable Savings/(Cost) from General Revenue Fund 1 |
|---|---|
| 2010 | ($158,780) |
| 2011 | ($137,278) |
| 2012 | ($137,278) |
| 2013 | ($137,278) |
| 2014 | ($137,278) |
| Fiscal Year | Change in Number of State Employees from FY 2009 |
|---|---|
| 2010 | 2.0 |
| 2011 | 2.0 |
| 2012 | 2.0 |
| 2013 | 2.0 |
| 2014 | 2.0 |
Under provisions of the bill, an institution would be required to make classrooms not scheduled for use by the institution, student organizations or faculty, available to other institutions from 6pm to 10pm during the week to teach courses in the core curriculum. The institutions could not charge the other institution for the use their classroom.
The bill would also require the Higher Education Coordinating Board to submit to the legislature a written report for each semester or summer session regarding each public institution of higher education's classroom utilization rates.
It is assumed that any savings associated with expanding the availability of classrooms and other facilities would be offset by operational costs (such things as utilities) and formula increases generated by the increase in weighted semester credit hours.
Currently, the Higher Education Coordinating Board only computes utilization rates for public senior colleges and universities once a year. They do not receive inventory information for junior colleges or other agencies of higher education. The bill would require increased information and reporting demands on classroom utilization to now include all public institutions of higher education, which includes any public technical institute, public junior college, public senior college or university, medical or dental unit, public state college, or other agency of higher education. To execute the utilization study, the Higher Education Coordinating Board would need facilities inventory data, as well as class data, for the additional institutions. The Higher Education Coordinating Board has indicated they would need to hire 2 program directors at an estimated cost for salary and benefits of $158,780 in fiscal year 2010 and $137,278 annually for fiscal year 2011 through fiscal year 2014 to implement provisions of the bill.
| Source Agencies: | 781 Higher Education Coordinating Board
|
| LBB Staff: | JOB, KK, RT, GO
|