HBA-EDN S.B. 77 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisS.B. 77 By: Haywood Higher Education 4/1/2001 Engrossed BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, many institutions of higher education have within their operating code provisions relating to the grounds for removal of a board member. Texas Woman's University (TWU) does not have such guidelines included in its operating statute. Senate Bill 77 updates TWU's operating code to provide guidelines for removal of a member from its board of regents. 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 Senate Bill 77 amends the Education Code to provide that it is a ground for removal from the Texas Woman's University board of regents (board) that a member commits malfeasance of office, cannot, because of illness or disability, discharge the member's duties for a substantial part of the member's term, or is absent more than half of the regularly scheduled board meetings that the member is eligible to attend during a calendar year, unless the absence is excused by majority vote of the board. S.B. 77 also provides that the validity of an action of the board is not affected by the fact that it was taken when a ground for removal of a board member existed. EFFECTIVE DATE On passage.