BILL ANALYSIS

Senate Research Center	S.B. 1677
87R12053 MM-D	By: Buckingham
	Higher Education
	4/2/2021
	As Filed

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

Texas higher education institutions are statutorily required to report data to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) on a variety of measures for purposes of providing information, transparency, accountability, and support in making policy and institutional decisions. Although the collection and reporting of higher education is critical, there are circumstances in which reporting requirements are duplicative or redundant and over time, these reporting requirements create administratively inefficient processes for institutions and THECB.

S.B. 1677 seeks to streamline, limit, and reduce, where feasible, duplicative reporting requirements placed upon institutions of higher education via two methods. The first grants THECB the authority, by rule, to eliminate reporting requirements if there is already similar data being collected by THECB. The bill also eliminates two duplicative reporting requirements currently in statute, as proposed by a statutorily required negotiated rulemaking committee composed of institutional representatives.

As proposed, S.B. 1677 amends current law relating to eliminating reporting requirements for public institutions of higher education and the requirement for a plan by certain school districts to increase enrollment in public institutions of higher educations.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

Rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board in SECTION 1 (Section 61.0341, Education Code) of this bill.

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1. Amends Subchapter B, Chapter 61, Education Code, by adding Section 61.0341, as follows:

Sec. 61.0341. LIMITATION ON DATA COLLECTION AND REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. (a) Provides that the legislature finds that data collection and reporting requirements for institutions of higher education are required to be limited and reduced to the extent feasible.

(b) Authorizes the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB), if the commissioner of higher education determines that THECB has access to an alternative means of collecting data or receiving information to be included in a report sufficient to fulfill a requirement under this code, to eliminate by rule the reporting requirement for that data or information.

SECTION 2: Repealer: Section 29.904 (Plan to Increase Enrollment in Institutions of Higher Education), Education Code.

Repealer: Section 51.4031 (Reports of Affordability and Access), Education Code.

SECTION 3: Effective date: September 1, 2021.