HB 1986 -- FACULTY REPRESENTATIVES ON GOVERNING BOARDS OF
PUBLIC HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

CO-SPONSORS:  Hosmer, Farnen, Williams, Britt, Riback Wilson
(25), Haywood, Harlan, Champion

COMMITTEE ACTION:  Voted "do pass by consent" by the Committee on
Education-Higher by a vote of 11 to 0.

This bill authorizes a faculty representative as a nonvoting
member of the governing boards of four-year public higher
education institutions.  The faculty representative to each
institution's governing board will be appointed by the Governor,
with the advice and consent of the Senate.  The faculty
representative, who is to serve a single term of two years, must
be a U.S. citizen; a Missouri resident; and a full-time, tenured
member of the faculty.  The faculty representative is authorized
to receive the same reimbursement for expenses as other board
members, must attend all meetings of the board, and has all of
the powers of the other board members, except the right to vote.
Technical changes to accommodate the addition of a nonvoting
faculty representative are made to several sections of law.  The
bill permits the institutions to close meetings to the faculty
representative and requires all board members at these
institutions to observe confidentiality.  The provisions
concerning the student representative at each institution are
revised to require the selection of a replacement to occur within
90 days of a vacancy.

FISCAL NOTE:  No impact on state funds.

PROPONENTS:  Supporters say that students have had a nonvoting
member on governing boards for more than a decade.  The other
major constituent of college business is the faculty, and they
would like a similar position to ensure that their point of view
is represented.  Making sure that boards get all the information
they need to make good decisions is important.  Bills similar to
this one have been approved by the House for the past several
years.

Testifying for the bill were Representative Hosmer; Missouri
Association of Faculty Senates; and American Association of
University Professors.

OPPONENTS:  There was no opposition voiced to the committee.

Becky DeNeve, Senior Legislative Analyst

Missouri House of Representatives
Last Updated October 11, 2002 at 9:03 am