_____________ bill NO. _____________

INTRODUCED BY _________________________________________________

By Request of the Education Interim Committee

A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: “AN ACT revising the Education Interim COmmittee; removing certain duties regarding the Board of regents; and AMENDING SECTION 5-5-224, MCA.”

WHEREAS, subsection (2) of 5-5-224, MCA, originated in statutes that created the Joint Committee on Postsecondary Education Policy and Budget, which was staffed by a Legislative Fiscal Analyst and whose membership included members of the Board of Regents, a university system student, and a representative from the Governor's Office of Budget and Program Planning; and

WHEREAS, the Legislative Finance Committee stated in a letter dated December 17, 2019, to the Education Interim Committee that it had no objections to the removal of subsection (2) of 5-5-224, MCA, and that the Joint Appropriations Subcommittee on Education conducts a thorough review of the budget and finances of the Montana University System each biennium.

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

Section 1. Section 5-5-224, MCA, is amended to read:

"5-5-224. Education interim committee. (1) The education interim committee has administrative rule review, draft legislation review, program evaluation, and monitoring functions for the following executive branch agencies and the entities attached to agencies for administrative purposes:

(a) (1) state board of education;

(b) (2) board of public education;

(c) (3) board of regents of higher education; and

(d) (4)  office of public instruction.

(2) The committee shall:

(a) provide information to the board of regents in the following areas:

(i) annual budget allocations;

(ii) annual goal statement development;

(iii) long-range planning;

(iv) outcome assessment programs; and

(v) any other area that the committee considers to have significant educational or fiscal policy impact;

(b) periodically review the success or failure of the university system in meeting its annual goals and long-range plans;

(c) periodically review the results of outcome assessment programs;

(d) develop mechanisms to ensure strict accountability of the revenue and expenditures of the university system;

(e) study and report to the legislature on the advisability of adjustments to the mechanisms used to determine funding for the university system, including criteria for determining appropriate levels of funding;

(f) act as a liaison between both the legislative and executive branches and the board of regents; and

(g) encourage cooperation between the legislative and executive branches and the board of regents."