House Bill 4195

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.







    Florida House of Representatives - 1998                HB 4195

        By Representative Casey






  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to the State University System;

  3         amending s. 240.207, F.S.; providing terms of

  4         office for members of the Board of Regents;

  5         amending s. 240.209, F.S.; revising provisions

  6         relating to the selection of the Chancellor;

  7         authorizing universities to increase tuition

  8         and matriculation fees within certain limits;

  9         deleting a restriction on the faculty

10         appointment of former university presidents;

11         providing an effective date.

12

13  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

14

15         Section 1.  Effective January 1, 1999, section 240.207,

16  Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

17         240.207  Board of Regents; appointment of members;

18  qualifications and terms of office.--

19         (1)  The Board of Regents shall consist of the

20  Commissioner of Education and 13 12 citizens of this state who

21  shall be selected from the state at large, representative of

22  the geographical areas of the state; who shall have been

23  residents and citizens thereof for a period of at least 10

24  years prior to their appointment (one of whom shall be a

25  member registered as a full-time student in the State

26  University System and who shall have been a resident of this

27  state for at least 5 years prior to appointment in lieu of the

28  10 years required of other members); and who shall be

29  appointed by the Governor, approved by three members of the

30  Cabinet, and confirmed by the Senate.  However, no appointee

31  shall take office until after his or her appointment has been

                                  1

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida House of Representatives - 1998                HB 4195

    529-167B-98






  1  approved by three members of the Cabinet.  The State Board of

  2  Education shall develop rules and procedures for review and

  3  approval of the appointees.  Except for the Commissioner of

  4  Education and except for the full-time student member, who

  5  shall serve for 1 year, the terms of office for the members of

  6  the Board of Regents appointed after the effective date of

  7  this act shall be 4 6 years and until their successors are

  8  appointed and qualified, except in case of an appointment to

  9  fill a vacancy, in which case the appointment shall be for the

10  unexpired term, and except as in this section otherwise

11  provided.  No member shall be selected from any county to

12  serve with any other member from the same county, except that

13  not more than two members may be selected from a county which

14  has a population in excess of 900,000, and with the exceptions

15  of the student member, who shall be selected at large, and the

16  Commissioner of Education. The Governor shall fill all

17  vacancies, subject to the above approval and confirmation,

18  that may at any time occur on the board.

19         (2)  Members may be removed for cause at any time upon

20  the concurrence of a majority of the members of the State

21  Board of Education.

22         (3)  To create an orderly succession of Regents and the

23  appointment of two Regents each year, one additional Regent

24  shall be appointed in 1991 to serve a 6-year term, and one

25  additional Regent shall be appointed in 1992 to serve a 6-year

26  term.  For the four seats with terms ending in 1993, the

27  Governor shall make one appointment for a 3-year term and two

28  appointments for regular 6-year terms.  For 1 year, from

29  January 1992 to January 1993, there shall be a total of 15

30  Regents.  All the members of the Board of Regents serving on

31

                                  2

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida House of Representatives - 1998                HB 4195

    529-167B-98






  1  May 3, 1991, shall complete their regular terms, as prescribed

  2  by the Secretary of State.

  3         Section 2.  Subsections (2) and paragraphs (b) and (e)

  4  of subsection (3) of section 240.209, Florida Statutes, are

  5  amended to read:

  6         240.209  Board of Regents; powers and duties.--

  7         (2)  The Board of Regents shall appoint a Chancellor to

  8  serve at its pleasure who shall perform such duties as are

  9  assigned to him or her by the board.  The board shall fix the

10  compensation and other conditions of employment for the

11  Chancellor.  The board shall also provide for the compensation

12  and other conditions of employment for employees necessary to

13  assist the board and the Chancellor in the performance of

14  their duties. The Chancellor shall be the chief administrative

15  officer of the board and shall be responsible for appointing

16  all employees of the board who shall serve under his or her

17  direction and control.  The Chancellor must shall be a person

18  qualified by training and experience to understand the

19  problems and needs of the state in the field of postsecondary

20  education.  Search committee activities for the selection of

21  the Chancellor must be conducted in accordance with up to the

22  point of transmitting a list of nominees to the Board of

23  Regents shall be confidential and exempt from the provisions

24  of ss. 119.07(1) and 286.011.

25         (3)  The board shall:

26         (b)  Appoint or remove the president of each university

27  in accordance with procedures and rules adopted by the Board

28  of Regents.  The board may appoint a search committee to

29  assist in evaluating presidential candidates. Each appointment

30  of a university president shall be conducted in accordance

31  with the provisions of ss. 119.07 and 286.011. The board shall

                                  3

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida House of Representatives - 1998                HB 4195

    529-167B-98






  1  determine the compensation and other conditions of employment

  2  for each president. The board shall not provide a tenured

  3  faculty appointment to any president who is removed through

  4  termination by the board or resignation tendered at the

  5  request of the board.

  6         (e)  Establish student fees.

  7         1.  By no later than December 1 of each year, the board

  8  shall raise the systemwide standard for resident undergraduate

  9  matriculation and financial aid fees for the subsequent fall

10  term, up to but no more than 25 percent of the prior year's

11  cost of undergraduate programs. In implementing this

12  paragraph, fees charged for graduate, medical, veterinary, and

13  dental programs may be increased by the Board of Regents in

14  the same percentage as the increase in fees for resident

15  undergraduates. However, in the absence of legislative action

16  to the contrary in an appropriations act, the board may not

17  approve annual fee increases for resident students in excess

18  of 10 percent. The sum of nonresident student matriculation

19  and tuition fees must be sufficient to defray the full cost of

20  undergraduate education. Graduate, medical, veterinary, and

21  dental fees charged to nonresidents may be increased by the

22  board in the same percentage as the increase in fees for

23  nonresident undergraduates. However, in implementing this

24  policy and in the absence of legislative action to the

25  contrary in an appropriations act, annual fee increases for

26  nonresident students may not exceed 25 percent. In the absence

27  of legislative action to the contrary in the General

28  Appropriations Act, the fees shall go into effect for the

29  following fall term.

30         2.  When the appropriations act requires a new fee

31  schedule, the board shall establish a systemwide standard fee

                                  4

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida House of Representatives - 1998                HB 4195

    529-167B-98






  1  schedule required to produce the total fee revenue established

  2  in the appropriations act based on the product of the assigned

  3  enrollment and the fee schedule. The board may approve the

  4  expenditure of any fee revenues resulting from the product of

  5  the fee schedule adopted pursuant to this section and the

  6  assigned enrollment.

  7         3.  Upon provision of authority in a General

  8  Appropriations Act to spend revenue raised pursuant to this

  9  section, The board shall approve a university request to

10  implement a matriculation and out-of-state tuition fee

11  schedule which is calculated to generate revenue which varies

12  no more than 10 percent from the standard fee revenues

13  authorized through an appropriations act. In implementing an

14  alternative fee schedule, the increase in cost to a student

15  taking 15 hours in one term shall be limited to 5 percent.

16  Matriculation and out-of-state tuition fee revenues generated

17  as a result of this provision are to be expended for

18  implementing a plan for achieving accountability goals adopted

19  pursuant to s. 240.214(2) and for implementing a Board of

20  Regents-approved plan to contain student costs by reducing the

21  time necessary for graduation without reducing the quality of

22  instruction. The plans shall be recommended by a

23  universitywide committee, at least one-half of whom are

24  students appointed by the student body president. A

25  chairperson, appointed jointly by the university president and

26  the student body president, shall vote only in the case of a

27  tie.

28         4.  The board is authorized to collect for financial

29  aid purposes an amount not to exceed 5 percent of the student

30  tuition and matriculation fee per credit hour. The revenues

31  from fees are to remain at each campus and replace existing

                                  5

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida House of Representatives - 1998                HB 4195

    529-167B-98






  1  financial aid fees. Such funds shall be disbursed to students

  2  as quickly as possible. The board shall specify specific

  3  limits on the percent of the fees collected in a fiscal year

  4  which may be carried forward unexpended to the following

  5  fiscal year. A minimum of 50 percent of funds from the student

  6  financial aid fee shall be used to provide financial aid based

  7  on absolute need. A student who has received an award prior to

  8  July 1, 1984, shall have his or her eligibility assessed on

  9  the same criteria that was used at the time of his or her

10  original award.

11         5.  The board may recommend to the Legislature an

12  appropriate systemwide standard matriculation and tuition fee

13  schedule.

14         6.  The Education and General Student and Other Fees

15  Trust Fund is hereby created, to be administered by the

16  Department of Education.  Funds shall be credited to the trust

17  fund from student fee collections and other miscellaneous fees

18  and receipts. The purpose of the trust fund is to support the

19  instruction and research missions of the State University

20  System. Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 216.301, and

21  pursuant to s. 216.351, any balance in the trust fund at the

22  end of any fiscal year shall remain in the trust fund and

23  shall be available for carrying out the purposes of the trust

24  fund.

25         Section 3.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

26  law.

27

28

29

30

31

                                  6

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida House of Representatives - 1998                HB 4195

    529-167B-98






  1            *****************************************

  2                       LEGISLATIVE SUMMARY

  3
      Revises provisions relating to the appointment and terms
  4    of office of members of the Board of Regents. Revises
      provisions relating to the selection of the Chancellor.
  5    Deletes a restriction on the faculty appointment of
      former university presidents. Authorizes universities to
  6    increase fees within certain limits.

  7

  8

  9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

                                  7