A Report on Salary Supplements at State Agencies and Public Higher Education Institutions
February 2014
Report Number 14-703
Overall Conclusion
Texas Government Code, Chapter 659, requires state agencies and public higher education institutions (including community colleges) to collect and report information regarding gifts, grants, donations, or other considerations they receive for the purpose of providing salary supplements to their employees. To facilitate that reporting, the State Auditor's Office distributed a questionnaire to 221 entities: 86 state agencies in the executive branch of state government and 135 public higher education institutions. The 135 public higher education institutions in this report include community college campuses, community college districts, universities, university systems, health-related institutions, the technical college system, and state colleges.
Responses to the questionnaire were as follows:
- A total of 19 entities (1 state agency, 12 community college campuses and community college districts, and 6 universities) reported that they received gifts, grants, donations, or other considerations designated for salary supplements for a named person, position, or endowment during fiscal year 2013 (see Chapter 1 for additional details).
- A total of 85 state agencies; 52 community college campuses and community college districts; and 65 universities, university systems, health-related institutions, the technical college system, and state colleges reported that they had not received gifts, grants, donations, or other considerations designated for salary supplements for a named person, position, or endowment during fiscal year 2013 (see Chapter 2 for additional details).
In addition:
- Three community colleges and three universities reported receiving gifts, grants, donations, or other considerations that exceeded $10,000 during fiscal year 2013 (1) from an entity created solely to provide support for the public higher education institution and (2) that were designated to be used as a salary supplement for a named person, position, or endowment.
- A total of 86 state agencies; 61 community college campuses and community college districts; and 68 universities, university systems, health-related institutions, the technical college system, and state colleges reported that they had not received gifts, grants, donations, or other considerations that exceeded $10,000 during fiscal year 2013 (1) from an entity created solely to provide support for the state agency or public higher education institution and (2) that were designated to be used as a salary supplement for a named person, position, or endowment.
It is important to note that the state agencies and public higher education institutions completed the State Auditor’s Office’s questionnaire based on their own interpretations of the statutory reporting requirements as those requirements applied to their entities. The state agencies and public higher education institutions self-reported the data presented in this report, and the State Auditor’s Office did not independently verify that data.
In addition to the reporting requirements in Texas Government Code, Chapter 659, discussed above, state agencies and public higher education institutions must comply with Section 3.02, page IX-18, the General Appropriations Act (82nd Legislature), which specifies requirements for reporting anticipated salary supplement-related information to the Office of the Comptroller of Public Accounts. In the interest of transparency, this report also includes information that state agencies and public higher education institutions reported to the Office of the Comptroller of Public Accounts (see Chapter 3 for additional details).