[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6119300,"mediaKeyId","2712688-26728149e9687625de0532a4c298c9f5","parentId",2712688,"title","Senator proposes 75% in-person attendance rule, fines for higher-education governing-board members","audioSeconds",68,"startMs",27135,"endMs",95780,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2712688-26728149e9687625de0532a4c298c9f5&start=27&end=95","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2712688-26728149e9687625de0532a4c298c9f5/thumbnail_27135.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6119300/Texas/Senator-proposes-75-in-person-attendance-rule-fines-for-higher-education-governing-board-members","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6119300-9f23ce35d034b85575753309de5a362f/orig.mp4?Expires=1771158027&Signature=IjUdSoig3p4GvJSz8vkxBUPjH3YoFGPs0i0eB2-~9Gg0qpOm~Q020cZw7I2UKBbutwFfolWmk9pYXFvpuUOc-6kJkI9lYumYcYwfW~C~oDbukpeHmrxMSHQdNsayU3qsRFMyikIsvXQcyb-wgqjiKYvi4BKxZhQfvuNuiyHr8v2jQ16wdMEHW~oSiBZRD18XWDt5MuAgbliKn5mxR1lQ5F3RU5qc2qSaEuXt~PzSXSWxwL8nhkIkEchomyx5Eue0Wu93QX812O1TNX4hh4uDLLuvtXnZOllFqU6C-q8EN1aOoyga7AVf1SfLX2PMy3~7wT3d2vooH3jEcHZXPJ~FPQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Texas Legislature","date","2025-03-20T00:00:00Z","article","Senator Kolkhorst, sponsor of Senate Bill 724, told the Senate Committee on Education (meeting date not specified) that the bill would require each member of a governing board of an institution of higher education to attend at least 75% of that board's meetings in person.

Kolkhorst said the proposal responds to what she described as a “post COVID era” problem in which governing boards sometimes lack quorum because members attend remotely. “Being in the present, you learn so much from other members, you get to hear the public in a better way,” she said.

The bill, as described by Kolkhorst during the committee session, would impose a civil penalty of $1,000 for a first violation; that money would be used by the institution to provide scholarships. A second violation would make the appointee ineligible for reappointment to that governing board or any other governing board, she said.

A committee member who identified service on nonprofit boards such as Feed the Children compared the proposal to private-sector expectations for in-person attendance, saying such attendance requirements are not unusual in nonprofit and private boards and “it seems to make sense for elected officials.” The committee member noted that some meetings remain hybrid but said real board meetings should be attended in person.

The committee opened public testimony on Senate Bill 724 and announced no one had registered to speak. The committee then closed public testimony and left Senate Bill 724 pending.

The discussion in committee was descriptive of the bill's provisions; the transcript does not record a committee vote or formal adoption of the bill. The sponsor did not provide statutory citations or identify a specific enforcement mechanism beyond the penalties described in the bill text laid out to the committee.

Public testimony was not taken and no formal action beyond leaving the bill pending was recorded at the hearing.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Senate Committee on Education K-16 (Part I) March 20, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Senator Kolkhorst, sponsor of Senate Bill 724, told the Senate Committee on Education (meeting date not specified) that the bill would require each member of a governing board of an institution of higher education to attend at least 75% of that board's meetings in person.","taxTitle","Committee on Education, Senate, Legislative, Texas","taxId",16848,"location","Texas","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6119295,"Committee hears substitute to bar foreign-adversary funding, require reporting and researcher training",212,341735,554240,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2712688-26728149e9687625de0532a4c298c9f5&start=341&end=554","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2712688-26728149e9687625de0532a4c298c9f5/thumbnail_341735.jpg","/articles/6119295/Texas/Committee-hears-substitute-to-bar-foreign-adversary-funding-require-reporting-and-researcher-training","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6119295-66b7e83559c4c9702a0a99734d2f5507/orig.mp4?Expires=1771158027&Signature=iwUHKDjXZ9QkMdZBYQvDwUXfSr6RwrRCli8owI7-xap1UQ2m~inw0tegrwFjGS2NDSSFm3tdTcWWtAwhYvYy6RNZ6XXfFKn-UT3c22xYTSZDc4ZUBJNwChaQ78BYipKsJ5zQPQRZGxHnWG063CHp0YGVg8KjAQdjmsyuTAjSO9qSVhYCxU06SymTmx6xdbRgm8BEicOTSK98CdEExMcLwWkciMhbEt2QGJRNmg2kFQSAozeEecpJWj-kyvU9npUATku7moGP06aQ3cX76T3r6NZJmNH7xiNAMjUrr2cCcPznyfDQ-UEVwYyOjTIPGAiocrd1ACV7UYt0uBa--asbNQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Senator Parker laid out the committee substitute for Senate Bill 1741 at a Senate Committee on Education hearing (meeting date not specified), describing it as a refile of prior legislation and saying the substitute corrects the bill’s effective date.

Parker told the committee the bill would require each public university to report foreign funding received during the preceding academic year to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board by Sept. 1 of each year. It would prohibit universities from accepting gifts, grants or donations from the government of a foreign adversary and would require espionage and intellectual property-theft prevention training for all researchers at Texas institutions of higher education. The substitute also would establish a reporting system for students, faculty and staff to report suspicious activity, and would grant rulemaking authority to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to implement the statute.

Parker said the bill is a refile of legislation from the previous session and that she intends to introduce another substitute with minor technical corrections based on stakeholder feedback. “This bill is a refile of SB 1537 from the Eighty-eighth legislative session,” she said. She also told the committee her staff provided members with a New York Times story about Chinese industrial espionage as background material.

In describing the national-security rationale, Parker said the threat actors acting to acquire technology include state-directed efforts by organs of the Chinese government such as the Ministry of State Security. “We’re not talking about the Chinese people, but rather the PLA and the CCP,” she said, and cited U.S. counterintelligence views that align with the “Made in China 2025” initiative as a strategic focus for such collection.

The substitute correcting the bill’s effective date was sent up to the committee by Vice Chair Campbell and a separate substitute with technical corrections was anticipated but not yet received by the sponsor’s office. The committee opened public testimony on the substitute, recorded that no one had registered to speak, closed public testimony and then recessed or moved on; the transcript does not show a committee vote or final action on the measure during the recorded hearing.

The sponsor emphasized implementation steps (annual reporting to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, prohibited sources of gifts and grants, required training and a reporting system) and said the bill would include rulemaking authority for the coordinating board to adopt implementing rules. No committee amendments or roll-call votes were recorded in the transcript.","Senator Parker laid out the committee substitute for Senate Bill 1741 at a Senate Committee on Education hearing (meeting date not specified), saying it requires annual reporting of foreign funding to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and would bar gifts from governments of foreign adversaries.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Senator proposes 75% in-person attendance rule, fines for higher-education governing-board members

Committee hears substitute to bar foreign-adversary funding, require reporting and researcher training