HBA-MPM H.B. 1952 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1952
By: Rangel
Higher Education
3/8/1999
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

In Texas, public officials are prohibited from entering into a collective
bargaining contract with a labor organization regarding the wages, hours,
and conditions of employment of public employees. However, Section 617.005
of the Government Code preserves the right of an individual public employee
to present a grievance to their employer regarding such matters.  Although
attorney general opinions have interpreted grievance rights broadly,
certain public institutions of higher education in recent years have denied
nonrenewed or terminated full-time faculty members the grievance rights.
This denial has occurred in all three sectors of public  higher education:
community colleges, public universities, and health-related institutions.
H.B. 1952 establishes full-time faculty members' rights to present
grievances relating to nonrenewal or termination of employment to the
governing boards of institutions of higher education. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Subchapter Z, Chapter 51, Education Code, by adding
Section 51.960, as follows: 

Sec. 51.960.  GRIEVANCE RIGHTS ON CERTAIN PERSONNEL ISSUES.  (a)  Defines
"faculty member" as a person employed full-time by an institution of higher
education as a member of the institution's faculty or staff, including
professional librarians, whose duties include teaching, research,
administration, or the performance of professional services. Provides that
this term does not include a person holding faculty rank but who spends the
majority of the person's time for the institution engaged in managerial or
supervisory activities, including a chancellor, vice chancellor, president,
vice president, provost, associate or assistant provost, dean, or associate
or assistant dean.  Defines "institution of higher education" with the
meaning assigned in Section 61.003, Education Code, where the term means
any public technical institute, public junior college, public senior
college or university, medical or dental unit, or other agency of higher
education defined in that section. 

(b)  Provides a faculty member at an institution of higher education has a
right to present a grievance to the governing board of the institution
regarding an issue related to the nonrenewal or termination of the faculty
member's employment. 

(c)  Prohibits an institution by contract, policy, or procedure, from
restricting a faculty member's right to present a grievance under this
section.  Authorizes an institution to adopt a method for presenting,
reviewing, and acting on a grievance filed under this section. 

SECTION 2.  Effective date: September 1, 1999.

SECTION 3.  Emergency clause.