The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (Coordinating Board) adopts repeal of Title 19, Part 1, Chapter 15, Subchapter C, §§15.40 - 15.44, National Research University Fund (NRUF), without changes to the proposed text as published in the October 13, 2023, issue of the Texas Register (48 TexReg 5917). The rules will not be republished.

The Coordinating Board adopts the repeal of this subchapter in accordance with changes made by House Bill (HB) 1595, 88th Legislature, Regular Session. Voters approved Proposition 5, relating to research funds at general academic institutions, on November 7, 2023, which allowed the provisions of HB 1595 to take effect on January 1, 2024. The Coordinating Board convened a negotiated rulemaking committee comprised of higher education institutional representatives in accordance with Texas Education Code, Section 61.0331, on August 3, 2023, to develop the proposed rules.

Rules 15.40 - 15.42 establish the purpose, authority, and definitions related to the NRUF. Rule 15.43 establishes the precise criteria for eligibility to receive a distribution from the NRUF, and Rule 15.44 provides for the process by which institutions report data on the criteria to the Coordinating Board and the Coordinating Board certifies eligibility of an institution to receive an NRUF distribution to the Comptroller of Public Accounts and State Auditor's Office.

As part of the changes enacted by HB 1595, statute eliminates the NRUF and recreates it as the Texas University Fund (TUF). The Coordinating Board therefore repeals the NRUF rules and replaces them with a new section outlining the eligibility, distribution methodology, and reporting requirements for the TUF.

No comments were received regarding the adoption of the repeal.

The repeal is adopted in accordance with changes made by Tex. HB 1595, 88th Leg., R.S. (2023), which eliminates the National Research University Fund and re-creates it as the Texas University Fund.

The adopted repeal affects Texas Education Code, §§62.141 - 62.149.