Sen. Bill Soules, D-Las Cruces, Senate Education Committee chair, speaks earlier this session. Soules said a now-tabled bill meant to create state approval of college executives’ contracts was proposing not just “review†but “oversight†of such contracts.
Sen. Bill Soules, D-Las Cruces, Senate Education Committee chair, speaks earlier this session. Soules said a now-tabled bill meant to create state approval of college executives’ contracts was proposing not just “review†but “oversight†of such contracts.
A bill endorsed by Attorney General Raúl Torrez to provide more oversight of contracts for college and university administrators drew opposition in the Senate Education Committee, where lawmakers tabled it after officials expressed concerns about potential consequences on accreditation and federal funds.
The next step for Senate Bill 266 is uncertain. A committee vote to table legislation often is considered an action to quietly kill it, preventing it from moving forward during the session.
The bill, sponsored by Sens. George Muñoz, D-Gallup, and Carrie Hamblen, D-Las Cruces, would require a review of personnel contracts for executive-level college administrators by the state Board of Finance as well as the attorney general.
New Mexico Department of Justice spokesperson Lauren Rodriguez criticized the Senate Education Committee’s action, writing in an email Monday the panel appears “to have been unduly influenced by university lobbyists who are themselves funded by taxpayer dollars and a Secretary of Higher Education who seems to be more interested in stifling reform than holding higher education leaders accountable.â€
The Department of Justice is “profoundly disappointed†the committee did not advance SB 266 “and provide meaningful oversight of taxpayer dollars at New Mexico’s institutions of higher education,†she wrote.
She added, “We had hoped that recent abuses of taxpayer funded positions at New Mexico State and Western New Mexico University would have prompted legislators to prioritize this issue.â€
The bill was introduced in reaction to a recent scandal at Western New Mexico University, where the college’s former president received a nearly $2 million buyout while under investigation by the state auditor. Torrez has a pending lawsuit against the former president, Joseph Shepard, as well as the school’s board of regents.
But several in higher education opposed the bill, worrying it would place undue “outside influence†on college boards as they hire presidents and other top leaders.
Linda Siegle, a member of the ·è¿ÍÖ±²¥ Fe Community College board, spoke in opposition to it Monday, warning of “severe adverse impacts†on accreditation of schools.
“We were all quite shocked at the settlement agreement, and I think that if this bill just addressed review of settlement agreements like that, it would certainly be advantageous for the colleges and universities,†Siegle said, referring to Shepard’s deal. “To hire a president requires so much thought about what kind of person that we need — where is their experience from? Are they going to fit in with our cultures? And that’s not something that the Board of Finance is going to have any knowledge of.â€
Higher Education Cabinet Secretary Stephanie Rodriguez told the committee the bill poses “potential impacts†to institutions “if there are not independent governing boards that get to make those independent decisions for hire and fire of presidents and chancellors.â€
Rodriguez cited one of the requirements for accreditation by the state Higher Education Commission: “the institution’s governing board is free from undue external influence and empowered to act in the best interests of the institution, including the students it serves.â€
Sen. Martin Hickey, D-Albuquerque, was the first in the committee to turn against the bill Monday morning, calling it a “phenomenal overreach†that could hurt executive recruitment at the state’s colleges.
The bill would require the Board of Finance to review contracts for an administrator, defined in the bill as a president, chancellor, vice president, vice chancellor, provost or vice provost, an athletic director and “any other person that is performing a similar executive function†within 30 days, and approve, deny or modify the contract. The board would then be tasked with reporting to the state attorney general and Higher Education Department annually, with details of the contracts it approved.
Sen. Bill Soules, D-Las Cruces, chair of the Senate Education Committee, said the bill was proposing not just “review†but “oversight†of such contracts.
“This bill, in my opinion, has already caused huge damage and harm to higher education, particularly those universities that are looking to hire new leaders,†Soules said. “People are going to shy away from New Mexico when they know those they’re negotiating contracts with are not the ones they’re really negotiating contracts with, when there are these extra review processes that actually have oversight.â€
Muñoz said the intention of the bill “is not to hold up the process or slow it down so we lose candidates.â€
“These are some of the highest-paid positions in state government in New Mexico, and so there does seem to be a need to have some oversight,†he said. “So there’s a little bit of checks and balances to make sure that when we commit to somebody long term, that it’s a prudent financial management decision for that particular university.â€
Chris Nordstrom, a spokesperson for Senate Democrats, said Muñoz plans to try to bring the legislation back, potentially by taking feedback from other legislators and making changes to the bill.
Torrez’s office did not answer whether he would be amenable to changes to the bill to garner more support from lawmakers, such as loosening the proposed oversight or limiting it to certain types of contracts.
