Sec. 63.202. ADMINISTRATION AND USE OF FUND. (a) The comptroller may contract with the governing board of any institution or component that is eligible to receive a grant under Subsection (c) to administer the fund. If a governing board administers the fund, the governing board may manage and invest the money in the fund in the same manner as the board manages and invests other permanent endowments. The administrator of the fund shall invest any fund in a manner that preserves the purchasing power of the fund's assets and the fund's annual distributions.

(b) Except as provided by Subsections (c) and (d), money in the fund established under this subchapter may not be used for any purpose.

(c) The investment returns of the fund may be appropriated to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board for the purpose of providing grants to public institutions of higher education that offer upper-level academic instruction and training in the field of nursing, allied health, or other health-related education. The coordinating board shall adopt rules relating to the award of grants under this subchapter and may, in awarding grants, consider the impact the grant will have on academic instruction and training in the field of nursing, allied health, or other health-related education in this state. An institution or component that is eligible to receive funding under Subchapter A or B is not eligible to receive a grant under this subchapter. The comptroller or the governing board shall report to the legislature the amount of funds that are available for appropriation under this section.

(d) The comptroller or the governing board that administers the fund may solicit and accept gifts and grants for the benefit of the fund. A gift or grant to the fund may be expended and used in the same manner as the investment returns of the fund under Subsection (c), subject to any limitation or requirement placed on the gift or grant by the donor or granting entity.

(e) Sections 403.095 and 404.071, Government Code, do not apply to a fund established under this subchapter.

(f) Notwithstanding the limitation provided by Subsection (b), grants awarded under Subsection (c) for the state fiscal biennium ending on August 31, 2021, and the fiscal biennium ending on August 31, 2023, by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall be awarded to programs preparing students for initial licensure as registered nurses or programs preparing qualified faculty members with a master's or doctoral degree for the program, including programs at two-year institutions of higher education, four-year general academic teaching institutions, health science centers, and independent or private institutions of higher education, or to the nursing resource section established under Section 105.002(b), Health and Safety Code. In awarding grants under this subsection, the coordinating board may:

(1) give priority to institutions proposing to address the shortage of registered nurses by promoting innovation in education, recruitment, and retention of nursing students and qualified faculty;

(2) award grants on a competitive basis;

(3) consider the availability of matching funds; and

(4) fund a study by the nursing resource section to evaluate the competencies of clinical judgment and behaviors that professional nursing students should possess at the time of graduation.

(g) Subsection (f) and this subsection expire September 1, 2023.

Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1402, Sec. 1, eff. Aug. 30, 1999. Amended by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1489, Sec. 11, eff. Sept. 1, 2001; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 728, Sec. 2, eff. June 20, 2003.

Amended by:

Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 534 (S.B. 992), Sec. 1, eff. June 16, 2007.

Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 999 (H.B. 3961), Sec. 15, eff. June 19, 2009.

Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 407 (S.B. 794), Sec. 1, eff. June 17, 2011.

Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 215 (H.B. 495), Sec. 1, eff. May 29, 2015.

Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1068 (H.B. 1401), Sec. 1, eff. June 14, 2019.