81R3607 KEL-D
By: Shapiro S.B. No. 454
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to measures to increase the affordability of textbooks
used for courses at public institutions of higher education;
authorizing a penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 51, Education Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter I to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER I. TEXTBOOKS
Sec. 51.451. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Coordinating board" means the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board.
(2) "Custom textbook" means a textbook that is
compiled by a publisher at the direction of a faculty member or
other person in charge of selecting course materials at an
institution of higher education and that may include items such as
selections from original instructor materials, previously
copyrighted publisher materials, copyrighted third-party works, or
elements unique to a specific institution.
(3) "Faculty member" has the meaning assigned by
Section 51.917.
(4) "Institution of higher education" has the meaning
assigned by Section 61.003.
(5) "Supplemental material," with respect to a
textbook, means instructional material developed to accompany the
textbook, including printed materials, computer disks, website
access, and electronically distributed materials, other than
material that is part of an integrated textbook.
(6) "Textbook" means a book published primarily for
instruction in connection with a particular course or courses
offered to postsecondary students by an institution of higher
education. The term includes any edition of a textbook or set of
textbooks and any item considered supplemental specifically to the
textbook, regardless of whether the textbook and supplemental item
are sold together or separately.
(7) "Textbook bundle" means a textbook offered for
sale, at a single price, in combination with other instructional
material such as additional printed material, a computer disk,
website access, or electronically distributed material. The term
does not include a textbook that is combined with other
instructional material, all of which is:
(A) required to be offered for sale with or as
part of the textbook, according to a third-party contractual
agreement; or
(B) interrelated with the content of the textbook
to such a degree that any separation of the material from the
textbook would render the textbook unusable for its intended
purpose.
(8) "University-affiliated bookstore" means a
bookstore that:
(A) sells textbooks for courses offered to
postsecondary students by an institution of higher education,
regardless of whether the bookstore is located on the campus of the
institution; and
(B) is operated by or with the approval of the
institution through ownership, a management agreement, a lease or
rental agreement, or otherwise.
Sec. 51.452. DISSEMINATION OF COURSE SCHEDULE AND LIST OF
REQUIRED AND RECOMMENDED TEXTBOOKS. (a) Each institution of
higher education shall:
(1) for each semester or academic term, compile a
course schedule indicating each course offered for the semester or
term to postsecondary students by the institution;
(2) include with the schedule a list of required and
recommended textbooks that specifies, for each textbook in each
course, the following information to the extent practicable:
(A) the retail price;
(B) the author;
(C) the publisher;
(D) the most recent copyright date; and
(E) the International Standard Book Number
assigned, if any;
(3) at the time required by Subsection (b)(2), publish
the course schedule and textbook list in hard copy format and on the
institution's Internet website and make the information available
to university-affiliated bookstores and other bookstores that
generally serve the students of the institution; and
(4) as soon as practicable after the information
becomes available, disseminate as required by Subdivision (3)
specific information regarding any revisions to the institution's
course schedule and textbook list.
(b) To allow for timely placement of textbook orders by
students, each institution of higher education shall:
(1) establish a deadline by which faculty members must
submit information to be included in the course schedule and
textbook list required by Subsection (a); and
(2) disseminate the institution's course schedule and
textbook list as required by Subsection (a)(3) as soon as
practicable after the institution has compiled the schedule and
list but not later than the 30th day before the first day that
classes are conducted for the semester or other academic term for
which the schedule and list are compiled.
Sec. 51.453. TEXTBOOK PUBLISHERS: AVAILABILITY OF
INFORMATION TO FACULTY CONCERNING TEXTBOOK PRICES, REVISIONS, AND
COPYRIGHTS. (a) When a textbook publisher provides information
regarding a textbook or supplemental material to a faculty member
or other person in charge of selecting course materials at an
institution of higher education, the publisher shall also provide
to the faculty member or other person written information that
includes:
(1) the price at which the publisher would make the
textbook or supplemental material available to a
university-affiliated bookstore or other bookstore that generally
serves the students of the institution and, if applicable, to the
public;
(2) the history of any substantial revisions to the
textbook or supplemental material, including the addition of new
chapters, new material covering additional time periods, new
themes, or new subject matter;
(3) the copyright dates of the current and three
preceding editions of the textbook;
(4) information as to whether the textbook or
supplemental material is available in other formats, such as a
paperback or unbound version; and
(5) the price at which the publisher would make the
textbook or supplemental material in any alternative format
available to a bookstore described by Subdivision (1) and, if
applicable, to the public.
(b) A textbook publisher shall comply with this section with
respect to a custom textbook only to the extent reasonably
practicable.
Sec. 51.454. TEXTBOOK BUNDLES. A textbook publisher that
offers a textbook bundle for sale directly to students enrolled at
an institution of higher education or, for resale purposes, to a
university-affiliated bookstore or other bookstore that generally
serves the students of the institution shall also offer for sale to
the students or bookstore, as applicable, each individual item of
instructional material as a separate, unbundled item that is
separately priced.
Sec. 51.455. ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTY. (a) The coordinating
board shall adopt rules under which the coordinating board may
impose a reasonable administrative penalty against a textbook
publisher that knowingly violates this subchapter. The rules must
provide for the coordinating board to hold a hearing to determine
whether a penalty is to be imposed and the amount of any penalty.
The coordinating board shall base the amount of any penalty on:
(1) the seriousness of the violation;
(2) any history of a previous violation;
(3) the amount necessary to deter a future violation;
(4) any effort to correct the violation; and
(5) any other matter justice requires.
(b) The attorney general may bring an action to collect an
administrative penalty that is not paid as directed by the
coordinating board.
Sec. 51.456. TEXTBOOK SCHOLARSHIPS. (a) Revenue collected
from administrative penalties imposed under Section 51.455 may be
used only for awarding to students enrolled at institutions of
higher education scholarships to cover the costs of textbooks and
other instructional material.
(b) The coordinating board shall adopt rules to administer
this section, including rules that establish criteria for awarding
scholarships and criteria requiring scholarship recipients to
demonstrate financial need.
SECTION 2. Subchapter I, Chapter 51, Education Code, as
added by this Act, applies beginning with the 2010 fall semester.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.