§ 53H-8-202 — Combined requests for appropriations -- Board review of operating budgets -- Submission of budgets -- Recommendations -- Hearing request -- Appropriation formulas -- Allocations -- Dedicated credits -- Financial affairs.

(1) As used in this section,"research university" means the University of Utah or Utah State University.
(2) (2)(a) Subject to Subsection (3), the board shall recommend a combined appropriation for the operating budgets of institutions and the board for inclusion in a state appropriations act.
(2)(b) The board's combined budget recommendation shall include:
(2)(b)(i) employee compensation;
(2)(b)(ii) mandatory costs, including building operations and maintenance, fuel, and power;
(2)(b)(iii) performance funding described in Part 3, Performance Funding;
(2)(b)(iv) statewide and institutional priorities, including scholarships, financial aid, and technology infrastructure; and
(2)(b)(v) enrollment growth.
(2)(c) The board's recommendations shall be available for presentation to the governor and to the Legislature at least 30 days before the convening of the Legislature, and shall include schedules showing the recommended amounts for each institution and the board, including separately funded programs or divisions.
(2)(d) The recommended appropriations shall be determined by the board only after the board has reviewed the proposed institutional operating budgets, and has consulted with the various institutions and board staff in order to make appropriate adjustments.
(3) In the combined request for appropriation, the board shall differentiate between appropriations requested for academic education and appropriations requested for technical education.
(4) (4)(a) Institutional operating budgets shall be submitted to the board at least 90 days before the convening of the Legislature in accordance with procedures established by the board.
(4)(b) Except as provided in Sections 53H-9-604 and 53H-9-504, funding requests pertaining to capital facilities and land purchases shall be submitted in accordance with procedures prescribed by the Division of Facilities Construction and Management.
(5) (5)(a) The budget recommendations of the board shall be accompanied by full explanations and supporting data.
(5)(b) The appropriations recommended by the board shall be made with the dual objective of:
(5)(b)(i) justifying for institutions appropriations consistent with the institutions' needs, and consistent with the financial ability of the state; and
(5)(b)(ii) determining an equitable distribution of funds among the respective institutions in accordance with the aims and objectives of the statewide master plan for higher education.
(6) (6)(a) The board shall request a hearing with the governor on the recommended appropriations.
(6)(b) After the governor delivers the governor's budget message to the Legislature, the board shall request hearings on the recommended appropriations with the Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee.
(6)(c) If either the total amount of the state appropriations or its allocation among the institutions as proposed by the Legislature or the Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee is substantially different from the recommendations of the board, the board may request further hearings with the Legislature or the Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee to reconsider both the total amount and the allocation.
(7) The board may devise, establish, periodically review, and revise formulas for the board's use and for the use of the governor and the Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee in making appropriation recommendations.
(8) (8)(a) The board shall recommend to each session of the Legislature the minimum tuitions, resident and nonresident, for each institution which it considers necessary to implement the budget recommendations.
(8)(b) Subject to Subsection (13), the board may fix the tuition, fees, and charges for each institution at levels the board finds necessary to meet budget requirements.
(9) Money allocated to each institution by legislative appropriation may be budgeted in accordance with institutional work programs approved by the board, provided that the expenditures funded by appropriations for each institution are kept within the appropriations for the applicable period.
(10) The dedicated credits, including revenues derived from tuitions, fees, federal grants, and proceeds from sales received by the institutions are appropriated to the respective institutions to be used in accordance with institutional work programs.
(11) An institution may do the institution's own purchasing, issue the institution's own payrolls, and handle the institution's own financial affairs under the general supervision of the board.
(12) If the Legislature appropriates money in accordance with this section, the money shall be distributed to the board and institutions to fund the items described in Subsection (2)(b).
(13) The board shall create policies requiring an institution of higher education to waive transcript fees for a student who is under the age of 26 and:
(13)(a) is homeless, as defined in Section 26B-3-207;
(13)(b) is a person who is homeless, as defined in Section 35A-5-302;
(13)(c) is an individual whose primary nighttime residence is a location that is not designed for or ordinarily used as a sleeping accommodation for an individual;
(13)(d) is a homeless child or youth, as defined in 42 U.S.C. Sec. 11434a;
(13)(e) is in the custody of the Division of Child and Family Services; or
(13)(f) was in the custody of the Division of Child and Family Services but is no longer in the custody of the Division of Child and Family Services due to the individual's age.

Legislative History

Renumbered and Amended by Chapter 8, 2025 Special Session 1