Amends TCA Title 4 and Title 49.

This bill provides that if a state university board ceases to exist in accordance with the Tennessee Governmental Entity Review Law, then the management, governance, powers, and duties of the state university board are transferred to the Tennessee higher education commission ("commission") at 11:59 p.m. on June 29 of the year in which the state university board ceases to exist. However, this bill does not alter, invalidate, or otherwise terminate any contracts, holdings, or interests of the respective state university. This bill prohibits the commission from exercising one or more of the powers, or performing one or more of the duties, prescribed in law for the state university for which the commission is serving as the state university board, if doing so would create a conflict of interest. The commission must report a conflict of interest to the governor in writing. This bill authorizes the governor to issue an executive order, proclamation, or rule to transfer the power or duty, with respect to the state university for which the commission is serving as the state university board to be performed for the respective academic year by another agency or department of this state. The commission must submit a report to the speaker of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives of a conflict of interest for which the governor transferred a power or duty of the commission to another agency or department of this state no later than 30 days from the date on which the governor transferred the respective power or duty. This bill requires the commission to submit written notification of its assumption of the management and governance of a state university under this bill to the appropriate joint evaluation committee as required under law. EXISTING RULES, POLICIES, PROCEDURES, AND GUIDELINES This bill provides that all rules promulgated by a state university board that are in effect upon the commission's assumption of the management and governance for the state university continue in effect and are deemed to be rules of the commission for the respective state university. Further, this bill provides that all policies, procedures, and guidelines adopted by a state university board that are in effect upon the commission's assumption of the management and governance for the state university continue in effect and are deemed to be rules of the commission for the respective university. However, upon the reconstitution of a local governing board of trustees for a state university for which the commission is serving as the state university board, all rules, policies, procedures, and guidelines for the state university that are in effect upon the reconstitution of its local governing board of trustees continue in effect and are deemed to be the rules, policies, procedures, and guidelines of the reconstituted state university board. RULEMAKING This bill requires the commission to promulgate rules to effectuate this bill. ON FEBRUARY 15, 2024, THE SENATE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED SENATE BILL 2109, AS AMENDED. AMENDMENT #1 makes the following changes to the bill: (1) This amendment provides that if a state university board ceases to exist in accordance with the Tennessee Governmental Entity Review Law, or if a state university board is vacated by an act of the general assembly that does not provide for the simultaneous reconstitution of the state university board, then the management, governance, powers, and duties of the state university board are transferred to the Tennessee higher education commission ("commission") at 11:59 p.m. on June 29 of the year in which the state university board ceases to exist, or one minute prior to the effective date of an act of the general assembly vacating the state university board, if the act does not provide for the simultaneous reconstitution of the state university board, as applicable; (2) This amendment requires the commission to exercise the management and governance functions, and execute and assume the powers and duties, of a state university board as provided in the law regarding Education, for a state university whose local governing board of trustees ceases to exist pursuant to the Tennessee Governmental Entity Review Law or for a state university whose local governing board of trustees is vacated by an act of the general assembly that does not provide for the simultaneous reconstitution of the state university board; (3) This amendment prohibits the commission from exercising or performing one or more of the commission's powers or duties as prescribed in existing law for a state university for which the commission is serving as the state university board with regard to the state university's academic programs, capital projects, or operating budget requests, if the commission has previously acted on the matter in the commission's role as the state university board; (4) This amendment requires, in order to avoid any conflicts of interest, the commission to delegate to the commission's executive director one or more of the commission's powers or duties as prescribed in existing law with regard to the academic programs, capital projects, or operating budget requests for a state university for which the commission is serving as the state university board, and for which the commission has previously acted in the commission's role as the state university board. The executive director may perform the delegated power or duty on behalf of the commission for the respective state university and any action taken by the executive director pursuant to such a delegation has the same force and effect as if the action were taken by the commission; (5) This amendment requires the executive director to, at the next scheduled commission meeting, present all information related to the executive director's performance of a power or duty delegated to the executive director; (6) This amendment authorizes, instead of requires, the commission to promulgate rules; and (7) This amendment clarifies that the present law that prohibits elected or appointed officials from serving as a member of a state university board for so long as they hold the office or position does not apply to members of the Tennessee higher education commission if the commission is serving as a state university board.