ARIZONA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SB 1527/HB 2662: higher education; budget reconciliation; 2018-2019

PRIME SPONSOR: Senator Yarbrough, LD 17

BILL STATUS: Chaptered

Abstract

Relating to higher education and the FY 2019 Budget.

Provisions

University Cost Containment Report (Sec. 2)

1. Changes the date for ABOR to submit the annual University Cost Containment Report for each university from July 1 to September 1.

2. Modifies the information that must be included in the report as follows:

a. Limits historical data on fees to mandatory fees instead of all fees;

b. Removes requirement that historical data include percentage increases and what they were used for at each university since 2009;

c. Stipulates that housing and meal plan fees are the average on-campus fees at each university's largest campus;

d. Requires data from the previous FY and specified FYs instead of data from the past 20 years;

e. Adds the number of FTEs and total salaries of university employees, differentiated between faculty, classified staff and administrators at each university during the previous FY and specified FYs;

f. Adds the number of credit hours required for a baccalaureate degree for the previous academic year and the 2004 academic year for the 10 degree programs with the largest increase in required credit hours between the 2004 and 2018 academic years and between the two previous academic years; and

g. Expands required information regarding nontraditional and lower-cost programs to include degree options that each university offers, has recently developed or is pursuing.

3. Removes the requirements that the following be included in the report:

a. Growth and cost of faculty and administration at each university;

b. Return on investment for diverting tuition dollars to non-instructional purposes; and

c. Ability to reduce unnecessary coursework for educational programs.

Foster Care Tuition Waiver Scholarship Program

4. Continues the Foster Care Tuition Waiver Scholarship Program. (Sec. 4)

· The Foster Care Tuition Waiver Pilot Program will sunset on July 1, 2018 (A.R.S. § 15-1809).

5. Contains a retroactive effective date of July 1, 2018 for the Foster Care Tuition Waiver Scholarship Program. (Sec. 10)

Community College Districts

6. Continues to suspend the funding formulas for Operating State Aid and STEM & Workforce Programs in FY 2019, and stipulates that the funding for each is as specified in the General Appropriations Act. (Sec. 8, 9)

7. Requires a community college course offered for credit to meet requirements adopted pursuant to district governing board policies, including national standardized examinations and credit by evaluation or exam.

a. Removes the ability for a community college district board to adopt policies that allow students to receive credit through other means. (Sec. 1)

8. Prohibits a community college from offering a course with a prerequisite for enrollment that requires a student to be a member of a labor organization, trade organization or trade guild to participate in an industry apprenticeship program. (Sec. 1)

9. Permits a community college district to resubmit a proposed primary tax levy amount to the voters between 20 and 35 years after the initial tax levy amount was approved.

a. Limits the proposed levy amount to two-times the otherwise authorized amount. (Sec. 6)

10. Prohibits a community college district whose proposal was disapproved by the voters from resubmitting a proposed primary tax levy amount until at least two years after the proposal was disapproved. (Sec. 6)

11. Stipulates that, if the proposal is approved by the voters, the difference between the prior and new levy amounts must be phased in over the three tax years following the approval. (Sec. 6)

Miscellaneous

12. Extends the Arizona Teacher Academy beyond the 2018 academic year. (Sec. 3)

13. Requires capital improvement plan annual reports to include a list containing the status of all projects reviewed by, approved by or reported to JCCR that have not yet been completed.

a. Asserts that the list includes third-party and commercial projects that public universities and ABOR are required to report to JCCR. (Sec. 5)

14. Continues to suspend the requirement that the Legislature provide 2:1 matching funds to student registration fees deposited into the Arizona Financial Aid Trust in FY 2019. (Sec. 7)

15. Makes technical and conforming changes. (Sec. 1, 2, 5, 6)

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Fifty-third Legislature                  SB 1527

Second Regular Session                               Version 2: Chaptered

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