Sponsor pitches amended higher-education hiring transparency bill; institutions warn of lost flexibility

Representative Eric Murphy opened a reopened hearing on House Bill 11 61, an amended proposal to require institutions under the State Board of Higher Education to list newly created and vacant full-time-equivalent (FTE) positions and to place funding for those positions into a central institutional pool. Murphy told the committee the amended draft was designed to increase transparency about hiring and vacancy management while maintaining institutional autonomy to use funds for personnel or operations, subject to reporting to the legislative budget section.

Murphy said the amended bill would require institutions to list newly created and vacant positions by December 1 of an even-numbered year and place the salaries and benefits associated with those positions into a centrally held campus pool. Upon hiring, funds would be released to the hiring unit; funds could be used for permanent or temporary hires, Murphy said, and any transfers from the pool for operational uses would have to be reported to the budget section. Murphy described the bill’s aim as improving planning and speeding hires, while giving the legislature a clearer picture of why positions remain unfilled.

Representatives of the State Board of Higher Education, campus…