BILL ANALYSIS

Senate Research Center	S.B. 1251
	By: Miles
	Higher Education
	3/26/2021
	As Filed

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

COVID-19 has brought to light the inequities and disparities within our healthcare systems in Texas. Population and public health would provide a solution to those issues by addressing ways that resources can be allocated to overcome the problems that drive poor health conditions in certain areas.

Currently, the Texas Education Code allows The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center to administer joint graduate and doctoral degree programs with The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences in the fields of neoplastic and allied diseases. S.B. 1251 would amend the Education Code to allow the two institutions to provide joint population and public health educational programs.

As proposed, S.B. 1251 amends current law relating to authorizing of joint degrees for certain graduate programs of The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1. Amends Subtitle C, Title 3, Subsection 73.102 Education Code, by adding Subsection (3), as follows:

Sec. 73.102. PURPOSE; DEGREE PROGRAMS. (a) Makes no changes to this subsection.

(b) Authorizes the board of regents, if the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board determines that the role and mission of the institution should be changed to include degree-granting authority, to:

(1) and (2) makes nonsubstantive changes to these subsections; and

(3) jointly prescribe courses and jointly conduct graduate programs with The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, including educational programs at the master's and doctoral levels related to the broad fields encompassed in population and public health.

(c) Makes no changes to this subsection.

SECTION 2. Effective date: upon passage or September 1, 2021. �