Bill Text: TX HB1407 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to the eligibility requirements for receiving distributions from the national research university fund.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-02-27 - Referred to Higher Education [HB1407 Detail]

Download: Texas-2019-HB1407-Introduced.html

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86R8236 KSD-D
By: Ortega H.B. No. 1407

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the eligibility requirements for receiving
distributions from the national research university fund.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 62.145(a), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) A general academic teaching institution becomes
eligible to receive an initial distribution of money appropriated
under this subchapter for a state fiscal year if:
(1) the institution is designated as an emerging
research university under the coordinating board's accountability
system;
(2) in each of the two state fiscal years preceding the
state fiscal year for which the appropriation is made, the
institution expended at least $45 million in restricted research
funds; and
(3) the institution:
(A) satisfies at least four of the following
criteria:
(i) [(A)] the value of the institution's
endowment funds is at least $400 million in each of the two state
fiscal years preceding the state fiscal year for which the
appropriation is made;
(ii) [(B)] the institution awarded at least
200 doctor of philosophy degrees during each of the two academic
years preceding the state fiscal year for which the appropriation
is made;
(iii) [(C)] the entering freshman class of
the institution for each of those two academic years demonstrated
high academic achievement, as determined according to standards
prescribed by the coordinating board by rule, giving consideration
to the future educational needs of the state as articulated in the
coordinating board's "Closing the Gaps" report;
(iv) [(D)] the institution is designated as
a member of the Association of Research Libraries or has a Phi Beta
Kappa chapter or has received an equivalent recognition of research
capabilities and scholarly attainment as determined according to
standards prescribed by the coordinating board by rule;
(v) [(E)] the faculty of the institution
for each of those two academic years was of high quality, as
determined according to coordinating board standards based on the
professional achievement and recognition of the institution's
faculty, including the election of faculty members to national
academies; and
(vi) [(F)] for each of those two academic
years, the institution has demonstrated a commitment to
high-quality graduate education, as determined according to
standards prescribed by the coordinating board by rule, including
standards relating to the number of graduate-level programs at the
institution, the institution's admission standards for graduate
programs, and the level of institutional support for graduate
students; or
(B) satisfies at least one of the criteria listed
in Paragraph (A) and is classified as an R1 doctorate-granting
university, or an equivalent designation if those classifications
are revised, under the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of
Higher Education.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2019.