Senate Bill 2785

AN ACT TO PROHIBIT STATE INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING FROM AWARDING TENURE OR ENTERING EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS OF MORE THAN FOUR YEARS DURATION WITH EMPLOYEES HIRED AFTER DECEMBER 31, 2023; TO TERMINATE EXISTING TENURE PROGRAMS WHEN NO COVERED EMPLOYEES REMAIN EMPLOYED BY THE INSTITUTION; TO PROVIDE BEGINNING WITH THE 2025-2026 SCHOOL YEAR ALL FULL-TIME FACULTY AND TENURED FACULTY AT PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING SHALL TEACH AT LEAST TWO UNDERGRADUATE CLASSES IN THE FALL AND SPRING SEMESTERS EACH YEAR, AND TO PROVIDE AN EXCEPTION FOR FACULTY EMPLOYED IN DEPARTMENTS OR SCHOOLS ONLY OFFERING GRADUATE DEGREES; AND TO PROVIDE CERTAIN RELATED REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING AND THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF STATE INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING; TO AMEND SECTION 37-101-15, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. (1) A state institution of higher learning in this state may not award tenure to, or enter into an employment contract for a period longer than four (4) years with, a person hired by the institution after December 31, 2023. A tenure system in effect at a public institution of higher learning on December 1, 2023, shall terminate when there are no faculty members covered by the system who remain employed by the institution. An employment contract shall include a provision allowing the institution to dismiss the employee prior to the expiration date of the contract if the institution determines that the employee has violated policies specifically listed as reasons for termination.

(2) (a) Beginning with the 2025-2026 school year, all full-time or tenured college faculty employed at a public institution of higher learning shall teach at least two (2) undergraduate or graduate courses in both the fall and spring semesters of each academic year, except for faculty members employed by departments or schools only offering graduate degrees. As a condition of employment, a state institution of higher learning may require faculty to teach additional courses in the spring, fall or any other designated academic term.

(b) Beginning July 31, 2026, and every year thereafter, state institutions of higher education shall report the following information regarding the previous academic year to the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning:

(i) The number of full-time faculty employed by the institution;

(ii) The number of full-time faculty who have received tenure;

(iii) The number of part-time faculty, including adjunct instructors or employees; and

(iv) The number of graduate assistants employed by the institution, including the number of classes taught by each assistant.

(i) Create a reporting system for a state institution of higher learning to use in fulfilling the reporting requirements; and

(ii) Compile an annual report containing the information for each institution received pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subsection and provide this report to the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor and the Speaker of the House of Representatives before September 1 annually.

SECTION 2. Section 37-101-15, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-101-15. (a) The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning shall succeed to and continue to exercise control of all records, books, papers, equipment, and supplies, and all lands, buildings, and other real and personal property belonging to or assigned to the use and benefit of the board of trustees formerly supervising and controlling the institutions of higher learning named in Section 37-101-1. The board shall have and exercise control of the use, distribution and disbursement of all funds, appropriations and taxes, now and hereafter in possession, levied and collected, received, or appropriated for the use, benefit, support, and maintenance or capital outlay expenditures of the institutions of higher learning, including the authorization of employees to sign vouchers for the disbursement of funds for the various institutions, except where otherwise specifically provided by law.

(b) The board shall have general supervision of the affairs of all the institutions of higher learning, including the departments and the schools thereof. The board shall have the power in its discretion to determine who shall be privileged to enter, to remain in, or to graduate therefrom. The board shall have general supervision of the conduct of libraries and laboratories, the care of dormitories, buildings, and grounds; the business methods and arrangement of accounts and records; the organization of the administrative plan of each institution; and all other matters incident to the proper functioning of the institutions. The board shall have the authority to establish minimum standards of achievement as a prerequisite for entrance into any of the institutions under its jurisdiction, which standards need not be uniform between the various institutions and which may be based upon such criteria as the board may establish.

(c) The board shall exercise all the powers and prerogatives conferred upon it under the laws establishing and providing for the operation of the several institutions herein specified. The board shall adopt such bylaws and regulations from time to time as it deems expedient for the proper supervision and control of the several institutions of higher learning, insofar as such bylaws and regulations are not repugnant to the Constitution and laws, and not inconsistent with the object for which these institutions were established. The board shall have power and authority to prescribe rules and regulations for policing the campuses and all buildings of the respective institutions, to authorize the arrest of all persons violating on any campus any criminal law of the state, and to have such law violators turned over to the civil authorities.

(d) For all institutions specified herein, the board shall provide a uniform system of recording and of accounting approved by the State Department of Audit. The board shall annually prepare, or cause to be prepared, a budget for each institution of higher learning for the succeeding year which must be prepared and in readiness for at least thirty (30) days before the convening of the regular session of the Legislature. All relationships and negotiations between the State Legislature and its various committees and the institutions named herein shall be carried on through the board of trustees. No official, employee or agent representing any of the separate institutions shall appear before the Legislature or any committee thereof except upon the written order of the board or upon the request of the Legislature or a committee thereof.

(e) For all institutions specified herein, the board shall prepare an annual report to the Legislature setting forth the disbursements of all monies appropriated to the respective institutions. Each report to the Legislature shall show how the money appropriated to the several institutions has been expended, beginning and ending with the fiscal years of the institutions, showing the name of each teacher, officer, and employee, and the salary paid each, and an itemized statement of each and every item of receipts and expenditures. Each report must be balanced, and must begin with the former balance. If any property belonging to the state or the institution is used for profit, the reports shall show the expense incurred in managing the property and the amount received therefrom. The reports shall also show a summary of the gross receipts and gross disbursements for each year and shall show the money on hand at the beginning of the fiscal period of the institution next preceding each session of the Legislature and the necessary amount of expense to be incurred from said date to January 1 following. The board shall keep the annual expenditures of each institution herein mentioned within the income derived from legislative appropriations and other sources, but in case of emergency arising from acts of providence, epidemics, fire or storm with the written approval of the Governor and by written consent of a majority of the senators and of the representatives it may exceed the income. The board shall require a surety bond in a surety company authorized to do business in this state of every employee who is the custodian of funds belonging to one or more of the institutions mentioned herein, which bond shall be in a sum to be fixed by the board in an amount that will properly safeguard the said funds, the premium for which shall be paid out of the funds appropriated for said institutions.

(f) The board shall have the power and authority to elect the heads of the various institutions of higher learning and to contract with all deans, professors, and other members of the teaching staff, and all administrative employees of said institutions for a term not exceeding four (4) years. The board shall have the power and authority to terminate any such contract at any time for malfeasance, inefficiency, or contumacious conduct, but never for political reasons. It shall be the policy of the board to permit the executive head of each institution to nominate for election by the board all subordinate employees of the institution over which he presides. It shall be the policy of the board to elect all officials for a definite tenure of service and to reelect during the period of satisfactory service. The board shall have the power to make any adjustments it thinks necessary between the various departments and schools of any institution or between the different institutions. The board shall implement the provisions of this act relative to faculty employment contracts and phasing out all tenure programs for university faculty.

(g) The board shall keep complete minutes and records of all proceedings which shall be open for inspection by any citizen of the state.

(h) The board shall have the power to enter into an energy performance contract, energy services contract, on a shared-savings, lease or lease-purchase basis, for energy efficiency services and/or equipment as prescribed in Section 31-7-14.

(i) The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, for and on behalf of Jackson State University, is hereby authorized to convey by donation or otherwise easements across portions of certain real estate located in the City of Jackson, Hinds County, Mississippi, for right-of-way required for the Metro Parkway Project.

(j) In connection with any international contract between the board or one (1) of the state's institutions of higher learning and any party outside of the United States, the board or institution that is the party to the international contract is hereby authorized and empowered to include in the contract a provision for the resolution by arbitration of any controversy between the parties to the contract relating to such contract or the failure or refusal to perform any part of the contract. Such provision shall be valid, enforceable and irrevocable without regard to the justiciable character of the controversy. Provided, however, that in the event either party to such contract initiates litigation against the other with respect to the contract, the arbitration provision shall be deemed waived unless asserted as a defense on or before the responding party is required to answer such litigation.

(k) The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning ("board"), on behalf of any institution under its jurisdiction, shall purchase and maintain business property insurance and business personal property insurance on all university-owned buildings and/or contents as required by federal law and regulations of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as is necessary for receiving public assistance or reimbursement for repair, reconstruction, replacement or other damage to those buildings and/or contents caused by the Hurricane Katrina Disaster of 2005 or subsequent disasters. The board is authorized to expend funds from any available source for the purpose of obtaining and maintaining that property insurance. The board is authorized to enter into agreements with the Department of Finance and Administration, local school districts, community/junior college districts, community hospitals and/or other state agencies to pool their liabilities to participate in a group business property and/or business personal property insurance program, subject to uniform rules and regulations as may be adopted by the Department of Finance and Administration.

(l) The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, or its designee, may approve the payment or reimbursement of reasonable travel expenses incurred by candidates for open positions at the board's executive office or at any of the state institutions of higher learning, when the job candidate has incurred expenses in traveling to a job interview at the request of the board, the Commissioner of Higher Education or a state institution of higher learning administrator.

(m) (i) The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning is authorized to administer and approve contracts for the construction and maintenance of buildings and other facilities of the state institutions of higher learning, including related contracts for architectural and engineering services, which are paid for with self-generated funds.

(ii) Additionally, the board is authorized to oversee, administer and approve contracts for the construction and maintenance of buildings and other facilities of the state institutions of higher learning, including related contracts for architectural and engineering services, which are funded in whole or in part by general obligation bonds of the State of Mississippi at institutions designated annually by the board as being capable to procure and administer all such contracts. Prior to the disbursement of funds, an agreement for each project between the institution and the Department of Finance and Administration shall be executed. The approval and execution of the agreement shall not be withheld by either party unless the withholding party provides a written, detailed explanation of the basis for withholding to the other party. The agreement shall stipulate the responsibilities of each party, applicable procurement regulations, documentation and reporting requirements, conditions prior to, and schedule of, disbursement of general obligation bond funds to the institution and provisions concerning handling any remaining general obligation bonds at the completion of the project. Such agreement shall not include provisions that constitute additional qualifications or criteria that act to invalidate the designation of an institution as capable of procuring and administering such project. Inclusion of any such provisions may be appealed to the Public Procurement Review Board. This paragraph (ii) shall stand repealed from and after July 1, 2025.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2022.