HSB 59 (LSB 1786YC (3) 91)

HOUSE FILE _____ 

BY  (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION BILL BY CHAIRPERSON COLLINS)

A BILL FOR

An Act providing for public availability of certain financial information of regents institutions and including effective date provisions.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  SHORT TITLE.  This Act shall be known and may be cited as the “College Finance Transparency Act”.
    Sec. 2.  NEW SECTION.  262.29  Financial information of institutions —— public availability.
   1.  As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:
   a.  “Administrative unit” includes all schools, departments, offices, programs, and other administrative subdivisions of an institution.
   b.  “Full-time faculty instruction” means instruction expenses for instructional faculty who teach at least nine semester credit hours each academic year.
   c.  “Institution” means an institution of higher education under the control of the state board of regents.
   d.  “Instruction” means instructional expenses of the colleges, schools, departments, and other instructional divisions of the institution for credit activities, including faculty salary and benefits. “Instruction” does not include academic administration, community education, departmental research, financial aid, general administration, institutional support, noncredit activities, overhead, preparatory and adult basic education, public service, remedial education, research, service-learning, student services, or tutorial instruction.
   2.  Each institution shall make available to the public on the institution’s internet site detailed information on all of the following:
   a.  All budgets of the institution totaling one thousand dollars or more in value.
   b.  All expenditures of the institution of one thousand dollars or more.
   c.  All vendors used by the institution that provide one thousand dollars or more of goods or services.
   d.  All written contracts entered into by the institution.
   3.  The information required by subsection 2 shall be subject to the following requirements:
   a.  The information shall be accessible from the institution’s internet site home page by use of no more than three links.
   b.  The information shall be searchable by keywords and phrases.
   c.  The information shall be accessible to the public without requiring registration or use of a user name, password, or other user identification.
   d.  The information shall be made available no later than the first day of classes for the semester or other academic term during which the section of the course is offered.
   e.  The information shall be updated on a regular basis to include information for the current fiscal year.
   f.  The information shall remain available on the institution’s internet site for at least ten years after the date on which the institution initially made the information available.
   4.  The information required to be made available pursuant to subsection 2 shall include all of the following:
   a.  An annual budget that includes anticipated revenues and expenditures for each administrative unit of the institution.
   b.  A report comparing each budget with actual expenditures that shows the budget, actual revenue and expense transactions, revenue and expense commitments, and budget balance information for each administrative unit.
   c.  A budgeted salary report that shows the name, title, classifications, full-time equivalent percentage, annual salary, funding sources, and percentage of salary for each budget for full-time and part-time positions.
   d.  A statement indicating whether an individual expenditure has contributed to diversity, equity, and inclusion; social justice; sustainability; or any similar commitment.
   e.  Discrete sections that collate all individual expenditures for each of the categories of diversity, equity, and inclusion; social justice; sustainability; or any similar commitment, and that include the aggregate expenditures of the institution as a whole, and the aggregate expenditures of each administrative unit for the institution, for each of these categories.
   f.  Month-end financial statements that show the current status of project budgets, expenditures, commitments, and balances.
   g.  A calculation of the proportion of the institution’s total nonhospital expenditures devoted to full-time faculty instruction.
   h.  (1)  A transaction register that contains a complete record of all funds expended, from any source and for any purpose. The register shall include all of the following for each expenditure:
   (a)  The transaction amount.
   (b)  The name of the individual or entity receiving payment.
   (c)  The identification number of the transaction, if applicable.
   (d)  A description of the expenditure, including the source of funds, a category title, and an object title for the expenditure.
   (2)  The register shall include all reimbursements for expenses.
   (3)  The register shall include an entry for salary, wages, or other compensation paid to individual employees involved in the expenditure.
   (4)  The register shall be accompanied by a complete explanation of any codes or acronyms used to identify an expenditure or an individual or entity receiving payment.
   (5)  The register shall not include an individual’s social security number.
   5.  Any information that is expressly prohibited from public disclosure by federal or state law, regulation, or rule shall be redacted from any information made available to the public pursuant to subsection 2.
    Sec. 3.  EFFECTIVE DATE.  This Act takes effect December 1, 2025.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill requires each institution of higher education under the control of the state board of regents to make available to the public on the institution’s internet site detailed information on budgets of the institution totaling $1,000 or more in value, expenditures of the institution of $1,000 or more, vendors used by the institution that provide $1,000 or more of goods or services, and written contracts entered into by the institution. The bill provides accessibility requirements and timelines for making such information available.
   The bill specifies matters that must be included in the information. Among such matters are an annual budget for each administrative unit of the institution; a budgeted salary report; information on expenditures for diversity, equity, and inclusion, and similar commitments; and a transaction register that contains a complete record of all funds expended.
   Any information that is expressly prohibited from public disclosure by federal or state law, regulation, or rule shall be redacted from any information made available to the public pursuant to the bill.
   The bill takes effect December 1, 2025.