SB 982 Summary

• Modifies higher education strategic planning by establishing a minority advancement program to support institutions in ensuring students, faculty, administrators, and staff reflect the racial and ethnic diversity of Connecticut's population.

• Authorizes the Board of Regents for Higher Education to sell, lease, or transfer surplus property from Connecticut State Colleges and Universities institutions, requiring fair market value appraisals and approval from the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, with proceeds prioritizing debt repayment and campus development.

• Establishes the Connecticut Open Educational Resource Coordinating Council under the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities to identify high-impact courses, award competitive grants to faculty for developing or adopting open educational resources, and submit annual reports to the legislature.

• Transfers fringe benefit funding responsibilities for higher education employees beginning July 1, 2024, with the state comptroller funding retirement benefits and institutions funding life insurance, hospitalization coverage, unemployment compensation, and Social Security taxes.

• Removes provisions related to online lottery ticket sales and the debt-free community college fund, consolidates lottery and gaming fund accounting, and repeals several sections related to regionalization task forces and online lottery operations effective July 1, 2023.