HBA-EDN H.B. 2269 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2269
By: Bailey
Higher Education
3/18/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

A faculty member employed by an institution of higher education
(institution) may not receive advance notice from the institution's
administration if adverse personnel action is going to be taken against the
faculty member.  The faculty member may not receive any more warning than a
phone call requesting them to attend a meeting with an administrator.  In
such meetings, a faculty member may be confronted with verbal accusations
by administrators and the institution's legal counsel while the faculty
member has no one present in the meeting to represent them or to gather or
present evidence on their behalf.  House Bill 2269 requires that faculty
members receive adequate notice of meetings relating to potential adverse
personnel actions, and entitles a faculty member to have a representative
present during such a meeting.     

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. 

ANALYSIS

House Bill 2269 amends the Education Code to provide that a faculty member
employed by an institution of higher education has the right to be
represented in a meeting that relates to the faculty member's job
performance and that may result in an adverse personnel action or a
recommendation relating to an adverse personnel action, including
termination, nonrenewal, suspension, demotion, or a reprimand.  The bill
provides that the right to representation applies to any meeting whose
purpose is partially or wholly investigatory, regardless of whether the
faculty member is the subject of the investigation.  The bill requires a
supervisor or person designated by a supervisor to notify in writing a
faculty member who is directed to attend such a meeting.  The faculty
member must receive the notice not later than the fourth day before the
meeting.  The bill sets forth provisions relating to the contents of the
notice. 

H.B. 2269 authorizes a faculty member to select a person to serve as their
representative.  The representative is authorized to be a member of a labor
organization that does not claim the right to strike. The representative
has the right in a meeting to counsel the faculty member, to take notes, to
make an audio recording, and to engage in any other activity agreed to by
the supervisor or other person conducting the meeting.   

The bill provides that the right to representation does not extend to a
routine meeting between a supervisor and faculty member that has no
reasonably foreseeable possibility of resulting in adverse personnel
action, and that a faculty member has the right to receive notice of and be
represented in a meeting that relates to their state or federal employment
rights, regardless of whether a supervisor is present.  These provisions do
not impair the right of a faculty member to present a grievance on an issue
related to the nonrenewal or termination of employment.      

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.