Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB454 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R3607 KEL-D
2	2	By: Shapiro S.B. No. 454
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to measures to increase the affordability of textbooks
8	8	used for courses at public institutions of higher education;
9	9	authorizing a penalty.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Chapter 51, Education Code, is amended by adding
12	12	Subchapter I to read as follows:
13	13	SUBCHAPTER I. TEXTBOOKS
14	14	Sec. 51.451. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
15	15	(1) "Coordinating board" means the Texas Higher
16	16	Education Coordinating Board.
17	17	(2) "Custom textbook" means a textbook that is
18	18	compiled by a publisher at the direction of a faculty member or
19	19	other person in charge of selecting course materials at an
20	20	institution of higher education and that may include items such as
21	21	selections from original instructor materials, previously
22	22	copyrighted publisher materials, copyrighted third-party works, or
23	23	elements unique to a specific institution.
24	24	(3) "Faculty member" has the meaning assigned by
25	25	Section 51.917.
26	26	(4) "Institution of higher education" has the meaning
27	27	assigned by Section 61.003.
28	28	(5) "Supplemental material," with respect to a
29	29	textbook, means instructional material developed to accompany the
30	30	textbook, including printed materials, computer disks, website
31	31	access, and electronically distributed materials, other than
32	32	material that is part of an integrated textbook.
33	33	(6) "Textbook" means a book published primarily for
34	34	instruction in connection with a particular course or courses
35	35	offered to postsecondary students by an institution of higher
36	36	education. The term includes any edition of a textbook or set of
37	37	textbooks and any item considered supplemental specifically to the
38	38	textbook, regardless of whether the textbook and supplemental item
39	39	are sold together or separately.
40	40	(7) "Textbook bundle" means a textbook offered for
41	41	sale, at a single price, in combination with other instructional
42	42	material such as additional printed material, a computer disk,
43	43	website access, or electronically distributed material. The term
44	44	does not include a textbook that is combined with other
45	45	instructional material, all of which is:
46	46	(A) required to be offered for sale with or as
47	47	part of the textbook, according to a third-party contractual
48	48	agreement; or
49	49	(B) interrelated with the content of the textbook
50	50	to such a degree that any separation of the material from the
51	51	textbook would render the textbook unusable for its intended
52	52	purpose.
53	53	(8) "University-affiliated bookstore" means a
54	54	bookstore that:
55	55	(A) sells textbooks for courses offered to
56	56	postsecondary students by an institution of higher education,
57	57	regardless of whether the bookstore is located on the campus of the
58	58	institution; and
59	59	(B) is operated by or with the approval of the
60	60	institution through ownership, a management agreement, a lease or
61	61	rental agreement, or otherwise.
62	62	Sec. 51.452. DISSEMINATION OF COURSE SCHEDULE AND LIST OF
63	63	REQUIRED AND RECOMMENDED TEXTBOOKS. (a) Each institution of
64	64	higher education shall:
65	65	(1) for each semester or academic term, compile a
66	66	course schedule indicating each course offered for the semester or
67	67	term to postsecondary students by the institution;
68	68	(2) include with the schedule a list of required and
69	69	recommended textbooks that specifies, for each textbook in each
70	70	course, the following information to the extent practicable:
71	71	(A) the retail price;
72	72	(B) the author;
73	73	(C) the publisher;
74	74	(D) the most recent copyright date; and
75	75	(E) the International Standard Book Number
76	76	assigned, if any;
77	77	(3) at the time required by Subsection (b)(2), publish
78	78	the course schedule and textbook list in hard copy format and on the
79	79	institution's Internet website and make the information available
80	80	to university-affiliated bookstores and other bookstores that
81	81	generally serve the students of the institution; and
82	82	(4) as soon as practicable after the information
83	83	becomes available, disseminate as required by Subdivision (3)
84	84	specific information regarding any revisions to the institution's
85	85	course schedule and textbook list.
86	86	(b) To allow for timely placement of textbook orders by
87	87	students, each institution of higher education shall:
88	88	(1) establish a deadline by which faculty members must
89	89	submit information to be included in the course schedule and
90	90	textbook list required by Subsection (a); and
91	91	(2) disseminate the institution's course schedule and
92	92	textbook list as required by Subsection (a)(3) as soon as
93	93	practicable after the institution has compiled the schedule and
94	94	list but not later than the 30th day before the first day that
95	95	classes are conducted for the semester or other academic term for
96	96	which the schedule and list are compiled.
97	97	Sec. 51.453. TEXTBOOK PUBLISHERS: AVAILABILITY OF
98	98	INFORMATION TO FACULTY CONCERNING TEXTBOOK PRICES, REVISIONS, AND
99	99	COPYRIGHTS. (a) When a textbook publisher provides information
100	100	regarding a textbook or supplemental material to a faculty member
101	101	or other person in charge of selecting course materials at an
102	102	institution of higher education, the publisher shall also provide
103	103	to the faculty member or other person written information that
104	104	includes:
105	105	(1) the price at which the publisher would make the
106	106	textbook or supplemental material available to a
107	107	university-affiliated bookstore or other bookstore that generally
108	108	serves the students of the institution and, if applicable, to the
109	109	public;
110	110	(2) the history of any substantial revisions to the
111	111	textbook or supplemental material, including the addition of new
112	112	chapters, new material covering additional time periods, new
113	113	themes, or new subject matter;
114	114	(3) the copyright dates of the current and three
115	115	preceding editions of the textbook;
116	116	(4) information as to whether the textbook or
117	117	supplemental material is available in other formats, such as a
118	118	paperback or unbound version; and
119	119	(5) the price at which the publisher would make the
120	120	textbook or supplemental material in any alternative format
121	121	available to a bookstore described by Subdivision (1) and, if
122	122	applicable, to the public.
123	123	(b) A textbook publisher shall comply with this section with
124	124	respect to a custom textbook only to the extent reasonably
125	125	practicable.
126	126	Sec. 51.454. TEXTBOOK BUNDLES. A textbook publisher that
127	127	offers a textbook bundle for sale directly to students enrolled at
128	128	an institution of higher education or, for resale purposes, to a
129	129	university-affiliated bookstore or other bookstore that generally
130	130	serves the students of the institution shall also offer for sale to
131	131	the students or bookstore, as applicable, each individual item of
132	132	instructional material as a separate, unbundled item that is
133	133	separately priced.
134	134	Sec. 51.455. ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTY. (a) The coordinating
135	135	board shall adopt rules under which the coordinating board may
136	136	impose a reasonable administrative penalty against a textbook
137	137	publisher that knowingly violates this subchapter. The rules must
138	138	provide for the coordinating board to hold a hearing to determine
139	139	whether a penalty is to be imposed and the amount of any penalty.
140	140	The coordinating board shall base the amount of any penalty on:
141	141	(1) the seriousness of the violation;
142	142	(2) any history of a previous violation;
143	143	(3) the amount necessary to deter a future violation;
144	144	(4) any effort to correct the violation; and
145	145	(5) any other matter justice requires.
146	146	(b) The attorney general may bring an action to collect an
147	147	administrative penalty that is not paid as directed by the
148	148	coordinating board.
149	149	Sec. 51.456. TEXTBOOK SCHOLARSHIPS. (a) Revenue collected
150	150	from administrative penalties imposed under Section 51.455 may be
151	151	used only for awarding to students enrolled at institutions of
152	152	higher education scholarships to cover the costs of textbooks and
153	153	other instructional material.
154	154	(b) The coordinating board shall adopt rules to administer
155	155	this section, including rules that establish criteria for awarding
156	156	scholarships and criteria requiring scholarship recipients to
157	157	demonstrate financial need.
158	158	SECTION 2. Subchapter I, Chapter 51, Education Code, as
159	159	added by this Act, applies beginning with the 2010 fall semester.
160	160	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.