§3139.5. Tuition autonomy; operational autonomy contingent on audit findings
A. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, each institution that
enters into a performance agreement shall be granted the authorities as provided in this
Subsection.
(1)For the 2010-2011 Fiscal Year, pursuant to policies adopted by the institution's
management board and in addition to the authority provided in R.S. 17:3351(A)(5)(e), the
authority to increase tuition and mandatory fee amounts by up to five percent annually.
(2)For the 2011-2012 Fiscal Year, if the Board of Regents has determined that the
institution has met the short-term targets established in the performance agreement, in
addition to the authority provided in R.S. 17:3351(A)(5)(e), the authority to increase tuition
and manda
Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI
§3139.5. Tuition autonomy; operational autonomy contingent on audit findings
A. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, each institution that
enters into a performance agreement shall be granted the authorities as provided in this
Subsection.
(1) For the 2010-2011 Fiscal Year, pursuant to policies adopted by the institution's
management board and in addition to the authority provided in R.S. 17:3351(A)(5)(e), the
authority to increase tuition and mandatory fee amounts by up to five percent annually.
(2) For the 2011-2012 Fiscal Year, if the Board of Regents has determined that the
institution has met the short-term targets established in the performance agreement, in
addition to the authority provided in R.S. 17:3351(A)(5)(e), the authority to increase tuition
and mandatory fee amounts by up to five percent annually.
(3) Beginning with the 2012-2013 Fiscal Year and thereafter, if the Board of Regents
has determined that the institution has met the short-term targets established in the
performance agreement and demonstrated progress on long-term targets, the institution shall
be authorized to:
(a) Increase tuition and fee amounts by up to ten percent annually, without legislative
approval, until the institution reaches the average tuition and fee amounts of its peer
institutions. Tuition and fee amounts for peer institutions shall be weighted based upon the
median household income in Southern Regional Education Board states in which respective
peer institutions are located. The median household income in such states shall be compared
with the median household income in Louisiana, and any differences between the average
of the states shall be factored into the allowable tuition and fee amount increase for the
respective institution.
(b) Upon reaching the average tuition and fee amounts as specified in Subparagraph
(a) of this Paragraph, increase tuition and fee amounts as necessary to maintain tuition and
fee amounts as close to that average as practical.
(4) Each postsecondary education management board shall establish criteria for
waiving any tuition or mandatory fee increase as authorized in this Section in cases of
financial hardship. Information relative to such waivers and the criteria and procedures for
obtaining a waiver shall be made available to all prospective students in a timely manner
such that each student is informed of the availability of a waiver prior to the student making
a final decision concerning attendance at any public institution of postsecondary education.
B.(1)(a) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, any institution that
meets the requirements of this Paragraph may exercise until July 1, 2020, the autonomies
provided by this Subsection subject to the limitations provided in this Paragraph.
(b) Subsequent to a postsecondary management board granting approval to an
institution in its system to exercise operational autonomies, the division of administration
shall approve the exercise of such autonomies to all institutions in the system governed by
the management board, provided the system received for its most recent audit, a financial
audit with an unmodified opinion, where the financial statements were free of material
misstatements and material weaknesses, and the financial position, results of operations, and
cash flows were represented fairly in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting
Principles. If the system did not receive for the most recent audit, a financial audit with an
unmodified opinion, where the financial statements were free of material misstatements and
material weaknesses, and the financial position, results of operations, and cash flows were
represented fairly in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, then the
division of administration shall approve the exercise of such autonomies to all institutions
in the system, except for any institution which was responsible for the finding of non-compliance at the system level.
(c) If an institution granted the right to exercise operational autonomies pursuant to
Subparagraph (b) of this Paragraph subsequently receives an audit with a material weakness
through a financial audit, the institution shall be required to develop and implement a
corrective action plan for approval by the management board. The institution shall be
required to demonstrate to the management board that the necessary corrective actions were
taken within six months from the date the audit finding was reported, or the institution will
lose the authority to exercise the autonomies granted for the remainder of the period that this
authority is in effect. The corrective action plan and post-implementation report shall be
submitted to the division of administration and the Board of Regents.
(2) The operational autonomies that may be granted pursuant to this Subsection are:
(a) Authority to retain any funds which remain unexpended and unobligated at the
end of the fiscal year for use at the institution's discretion pursuant to R.S. 17:3386.
(b) Authority to identify and dispose of obsolete equipment, excluding vehicles and
items deemed by federal law to be of a dangerous nature. Prior to exercising this autonomy
with respect to electronic devices, the postsecondary management board shall provide
certification to the division of administration that all such devices are sanitized of any
personally identifiable information.
(c) Authority to be excluded by the division of administration from any table of
organization.
(d)(i) Authority to participate in the higher education procurement code as
established by Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College and
approved by the division of administration. Each postsecondary education management
board may adopt the higher education procurement code, with amendments necessary to
insert the name of each management board into the procurement code and to implement the
code but excluding any substantive changes, pursuant to rules and regulations adopted in
accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act. Any entity whose budget is appropriated
through Schedule 19-Higher Education or 19E-LSU Health Sciences Center-health care
services division may use the higher education procurement code in lieu of the Louisiana
Procurement Code as provided in R.S. 39:15.3, 196 through 200, and 1551 through 1755,
subject to the prior review and approval of the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget.
Any changes to the higher education procurement code after an initial five-year period shall
be submitted to the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget for approval. However, there
shall be only one higher education procurement code except for nonsubstantive changes
required to implement the code.
(ii) The division of administration shall maintain a list of all institutions participating
in the higher education procurement code, which shall be published on its website.
(e)(i) Exemption from participation in the state's risk management program
established by R.S. 39:1527 et seq. and administered by the office of risk management,
pursuant to a determination by the division of administration that the institution or
management board, as applicable, has the capacity to manage its own risk and a phased-in
plan of implementation as determined by the institution in collaboration with the attorney
general and the division of administration, subject to the prior review and approval of the
Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget. This exemption shall not include the coverage
provided by the state's risk management program pursuant to R.S. 40:1237.1.
(ii) Nothing in this exemption shall abrogate, amend, or alter the authority of the
attorney general or the Department of Justice under Article IV, Sections 1 and 8 of the
Constitution of Louisiana or any other provision of law to represent the state and all
departments and agencies of state government in all litigation arising out of or involving tort
or contract. Any institution that is granted an exemption under this Item shall enter into an
interagency agreement with the attorney general and pay the attorney general reasonable
attorney fees and expenses incurred in representing the institution.
(iii) Nothing in this Item shall be construed as creating any independent or separate
cause of action against the state. The state shall continue to be sued only through the exempt
institution's management board and cannot be sued in addition to or separately from the
exempt institution's management board in any cause of action asserted against the exempt
institution. The office of risk management shall not be responsible for payment of any
judgment against the exempt institution's management board rendered subsequent to the
transfer of the applicable line of coverage. The state's obligation to indemnify a covered
individual as provided in R.S. 13:5108.1 shall not be performed by the office of risk
management.
(iv) Any contract between the exempt institution's management board and its insurer
shall name the state as an additional insured. Any provision in any contract between the
exempt institution's management board and its insurer that conflicts with the provisions of
this Section shall be deemed null and void.
(v) Nothing in this Item shall be construed to adversely affect any of the substantive
and procedural provisions and limitations applicable to actions against the state, including
but not limited to the provisions of R.S. 13:5106, 5107, 5108.1, and 5112, and R.S. 9:2800
which would continue to apply equally to any exempted institution. Those provisions that
will not apply are those that are specifically excluded in this Section. Upon transfer of each
line of coverage to the exempted institution under this Section, the provisions of R.S.
39:1527 et seq., as well as the provisions of R.S. 13:5106(B)(3)(c), shall not apply to the line
of coverage so transferred, nor to any claims asserted against the exempted institution within
the transferred line of coverage.
(f) Notwithstanding the provisions of R.S. 39:113, authority to administer all
facilities projects funded with self-generated revenue, federal funds, donations, grants, or
revenue bonds, including all projects falling under R.S. 39:128; however, excluding those
projects falling under R.S. 39:128, these projects shall not be exempted from the capital
outlay budget or any requirements as pertains thereto.
(g) Authority to invest funds as defined by R.S. 49:327(C) in municipal bonds issued
by any state or political subdivision and those instruments laid out in R.S. 49:327(B)(1), in
tax exempt bonds and other taxable governmental bonds issued by any state or a political
subdivision or public corporation of any state, provided that such bonds are rated by a
nationally recognized rating agency as investment grade. The investment policy governing
such investment as defined by R.S. 49:327(C)(1)(b) shall define the allocation of funds
among instruments and the term of maturity of the instruments, subject to the prior review
and approval of the investment advisory committee. If an institution is determined by the
division of administration to no longer possess the capacity relevant to this autonomy, or
both, authority to invest additional funds shall be limited to those instruments defined by
R.S. 49:327(B)(1) and (C), and shall exclude further investments in tax exempt bonds and
other taxable government bonds issued by any state or a political subdivision or public
corporation of any state.
(3)(a) Nothing in this Subsection abrogates, amends, or alters the authority of the
attorney general or the Department of Justice under Article IV, Sections 1 and 8 of the
Constitution of Louisiana or any other provision of law to represent the state and all
departments and agencies of state government in all litigation arising out of or involving tort
or contract. Any exempt institution under this Section shall enter into an interagency
agreement with the attorney general and pay the attorney general reasonable attorney fees and
expenses incurred in representing the institution.
(b) Nothing in this Subsection shall be construed as creating any independent or
separate cause of action against the state. The state shall continue to be sued only through
the exempt institution's management board and cannot be sued in addition to or separately
from the exempt institution's management board in any cause of action asserted against the
exempt institution.