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The Blast: A degree of difficulty for tenure bill [1]

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Date: 2023-05 

TENURE BILL FLUNKS FLOOR TEST

The university tenure bill is the latest priority bill to fall victim to a technicality flagged by Democrats.



The House was all set to consider Senate Bill 18 on the floor today when Rep. Ron Reynolds, D-Missouri City, raised a point of order calling the bill analysis misleading. House parliamentarians agreed, and House leadership rushed to reschedule the bill for a new committee hearing.



The latest news from the House Higher Education Committee: After today’s House floor session, the committee fixed the problem and once again gave the bill its favorable consideration.



Reynolds’ point of order argued the bill analysis said the legislation would require each school’s governing board to submit its performance evaluation policies and procedures for tenured faculty. However, the bill would actually require governing boards to submit all their policies and procedures related to tenure.



It’s likely a short-term hiccup on the path toward overhauling tenure in Texas, but it’s an example of the uptick in successful technical arguments against bills that have plagued some conservatives’ top priorities as the bills navigate the House. A point of order on House Bill 20, legislation to create a “Border Protection Unit,” forced lawmakers to shoehorn some of the bill’s language into another border bill. Senate Bill 14, the bill to ban gender transition-related care for minors, suffered two technical setbacks. And just this week, the House stutter-stepped on Senate Bill 1070, legislation to pull Texas out of a national voter roll cleaning program.



Each successful point of order is a point of drama and frustration for the bills’ proponents. But with only a week left till the deadline for the House and Senate to settle their differences, the legislative heartburn for Republicans could soon spell policy nightmares — especially on matters like SB 18, where the House and Senate are far apart.



The Senate version would eliminate tenure altogether. But the House curriculum, being taught by Rep. John Kuempel, R-Seguin, would merely codify how university regents can grant or revoke tenure. Eliminating tenure has been a major priority for Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, so it will make for some tough negotiations.

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[1] Url: https://mailchi.mp/texastribune/the-blast-a-degree-of-difficulty-for-tenure-bill

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