FIRST REGULAR SESSION
SENATE BILL NO. 231
93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR CROWELL.
Read 1st time January 25, 2005, and ordered printed.
TERRY L. SPIELER, Secretary.
1189S.01I
AN ACT
To amend chapter 174, RSMo, by adding thereto two new sections relating to fiscal accountability at institutions of higher education.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Chapter 174, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto two new sections, to be known as sections 174.336 and 174.337, to read as follows:
174.336. 1. Any Missouri public higher education institution intending to increase tuition shall be required to provide public notice of the proposed increase not less than six months before the beginning of any academic year. Such public notice shall be published in the institution's student newspapers and student-accessed publications, including electronic media, and in at least one local or regional newspaper. Notice shall also be provided to members of the general assembly. The notice shall include the amount of the tuition increase per credit or clock hour, the overall percentage increase in tuition as compared to the rate currently in effect, a statement of reasons for the increase, and the intended use of the additional revenues generated by the increase. The notice shall advise interested parties of their right to submit written comments to the institution during the six-month period between the notice and the effective date of the proposed tuition increase, including the name, title, street address, and email address of the official to whom comments should be submitted.
2. Not less than thirty days nor more than ninety days after such public notice, the institution shall hold a public hearing on the proposed tuition increase. The hearing shall be held at the institution, in a place openly accessible to the public. Notice of the hearing shall be made in the manner set forth in this section, except that the notice shall be made not less than ten days nor more than twenty days prior to the hearing. The notice otherwise shall comply with the requirements of the Missouri sunshine law. Appropriate officials of the institution shall be present at the hearing to provide information and respond to public inquiries regarding the proposed tuition increase. A list of attendees at the hearing shall be gathered, and a written transcript of a hearing shall be made.
3. Not more than thirty days after the date of the public hearing described in this section, the institution shall provide the coordinating board for higher education with the following:
(1) An executive summary of the hearing and all information relevant to the board's action related to the change in tuition;
(2) A transcript of the public hearing;
(3) A list of attendees at the hearing;
(4) Copies of all written comments received in response to the notice of the proposed tuition increase;
(5) A detailed statement of the reasons that the institution believes the proposed tuition increase is reasonable and necessary, including the previous and proposed tuition rates;
(6) A detailed statement of the intended use of the additional revenues generated by the tuition increase; and
(7) A statement from the institution's governing board endorsing the tuition increase and any additional recommendations.
4. The coordinating board for higher education shall review the items submitted by the institution for conformance with this policy and determine whether the proposed tuition increase exceeds, on a percentage basis, the percentage increase in the relevant consumer price index for the most recently completed state fiscal year. Not more than thirty days after the receipt of such information, the coordinating board for higher education shall submit to the governor and the general assembly the results of its review.
174.337. In order to provide greater accountability and expenditure information to the taxpayers of Missouri, the board of curators of the state university shall provide a budget detailed for each of the following levels: by campus; by department; by college; and by program within each department and college. This detail shall include personal service by position and expense and equipment by expenditure category for each fund source. This budget shall be provided to the coordinating board for higher education by November 1 for the following fiscal year. Moneys appropriated to the university shall be detailed in the appropriation bill in the following levels: by campus; by department; by college; and by program within each department and college. Any funds not used by any such department or college shall lapse to the general revenue fund of the state at the end of the fiscal year. No funds allocated to a department or college shall be transferred to another department or college unless approved by the coordinating board for higher education.