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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to excellence funding for health-related institutions of |
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higher education. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Chapter 62, Education Code, is amended by adding |
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Subchapter H to read as follows: |
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SUBCHAPTER H. EXCELLENCE FUND FOR |
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HEALTH-RELATED INSTITUTIONS |
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Sec. 62.161. PURPOSE. The purpose of this subchapter is to |
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sustain and expand levels of excellence in all aspects of the |
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missions of health-related institutions to educate and train the |
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health care workforce, to provide excellent clinical care, and to |
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develop new ways to treat diseases and address the health issues |
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facing Texas and the nation. |
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Sec. 62.162. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter: |
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(1) "Eligible institution" means a health-related |
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institution that is eligible to receive distributions of money |
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under this subchapter. |
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(2) "Health-related institution" means: |
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(A) The Texas A&M University System Health |
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Science Center; |
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(B) The University of Texas Medical Branch at |
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Galveston; |
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(C) The University of Texas Southwestern Medical |
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Center; |
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(D) The University of Texas Health Science Center |
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at San Antonio; |
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(E) The University of Texas Health Science Center |
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at Houston; |
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(F) the University of North Texas Health Science |
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Center at Fort Worth; and |
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(G) Texas Tech University Health Sciences |
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Center. |
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Sec. 62.163. EXCELLENCE FUND. (a) The excellence fund for |
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health-related institutions is an account in the general revenue |
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fund and consists of money appropriated or transferred to the |
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credit of the fund under this section or other law. |
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(b) The comptroller may accept gifts or grants for the fund |
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from any public or private source. |
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Sec. 62.164. ELIGIBLE INSTITUTIONS; CONTRIBUTION. (a) To |
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be eligible for annual distributions from the fund, a |
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health-related institution must: |
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(1) have a medical school; and |
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(2) make a one-time, initial transfer to the fund from |
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the institution's non-formula appropriations in an amount of not |
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less than $2.5 million, as determined by the institution, and as |
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specified in the General Appropriations Act. |
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(b) In making appropriations of the money in the fund, the |
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legislature shall ensure that each eligible institution, before the |
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end of the state fiscal biennium following the biennium in which the |
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institution made the initial transfer to the fund as required by |
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Subsection (a)(2), receives total distributions from the fund in an |
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amount that is equal to or exceeds the amount of its initial |
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transfer. |
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Sec. 62.165. DISTRIBUTIONS TO INSTITUTIONS. (a) In each |
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state fiscal year, an eligible institution is entitled to receive a |
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share of the money in the fund in proportion to the institution's |
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percentage of the total points awarded under Subsection (b) for |
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that fiscal year. If in a state fiscal biennium the total amount of |
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the institution's shares of the money in the fund is less than any |
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amount the institution is entitled to receive in that biennium |
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under Section 62.164(b), the institution's share for each fiscal |
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year shall be increased by the amount necessary to comply with |
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Section 62.164(b), and the shares of the other institutions shall |
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be reduced accordingly. |
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(b) For each state fiscal year, a total of 25 points is |
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awarded to eligible institutions for each of the following metrics, |
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with each institution receiving points, or fractional points |
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rounded to the nearest hundredth, in proportion to the |
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institution's share of the aggregate amount, for all eligible |
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institutions, of the applicable amounts described in each of the |
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following categories: |
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(1) Sponsored Research--the dollar amount of federal |
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and private research expenditures as reflected in the coordinating |
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board's annual research expenditures report; |
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(2) Faculty Quality--the number of awards to faculty, |
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such as Nobel Prizes and memberships in national academies, by |
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entities recognized for that purpose in the coordinating board's |
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accountability system; |
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(3) Doctoral Degrees--the number of doctoral degrees |
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awarded, as reflected in the coordinating board's accountability |
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system; |
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(4) Philanthropy--the dollar amount of cash gifts |
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received as reported in the Council for Aid to Education's |
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voluntary support of education survey or in the institutions' |
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Internal Revenue Service Form 990, whichever is considered |
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appropriate for the institution by the coordinating board; |
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(5) Commercialization--the number of licensing |
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agreements executed, as reported in the coordinating board's |
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technology development and transfer report; and |
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(6) Patents--the number of patents awarded, as |
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reported in the coordinating board's technology development and |
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transfer report. |
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(c) For each state fiscal biennium, each metric prescribed |
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by Subsection (b) is determined using the average of the applicable |
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numbers or amounts for the three preceding years for which the |
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information is available, as determined on the January 1 preceding |
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the biennium, and the determined average governs distributions from |
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the fund for each year of that biennium. |
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SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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Act takes effect September 1, 2013. |