82R9083 KEL-D
By: Vo H.B. No. 3094
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the establishment of textbook loan programs at public
institutions of higher education in this state.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter Z, Chapter 51, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 51.976 to read as follows:
Sec. 51.976. TEXTBOOK LOAN PROGRAM. (a) In this section,
"general academic teaching institution," "governing board,"
"institution of higher education," "public junior college,"
"public state college," and "public technical institute" have the
meanings assigned by Section 61.003.
(b) Subject to Subsection (j), the governing board of each
institution of higher education shall establish a textbook loan
program for the benefit of students enrolled in each degree or
certificate program offered by the institution.
(c) In establishing the program, the governing board of the
institution shall:
(1) adopt appropriate procedures and policies for the
program;
(2) coordinate those procedures and policies with
other institutions of higher education to identify best prices and
practices for purchasing or otherwise obtaining the textbooks
required for courses offered by the institution;
(3) accept bids from textbook publishers for the
purpose of purchasing the required textbooks directly from those
publishers;
(4) to cover the costs of administering the program
and building and maintaining an appropriate stock of textbooks,
establish within the institution a textbook loan fund that is
composed of student charges imposed under Subsection (f) and gifts
and grants accepted under Subsection (i); and
(5) create a task force to recommend program
procedures and policies to the governing board.
(d) A task force created under Subsection (c)(5) may include
students, faculty, administrators, and campus bookstore
representatives.
(e) A textbook loan program may not limit the authority of
faculty members to select appropriate instructional materials in
accordance with the institution's other policies and procedures.
(f) To cover the costs of administering the program and
building and maintaining an appropriate stock of textbooks, the
institution may impose the following charges on students enrolled
at the institution:
(1) a textbook program fee imposed on each student in
the following amounts:
(A) $500 on the student's initial enrollment in
an undergraduate degree or certificate program at a general
academic teaching institution other than a public state college,
including enrollment by a transfer or returning student except as
described by Subsection (g); and
(B) $300 on the student's initial enrollment at a
public junior college, public state college, or public technical
institute, or in a graduate or professional degree program at an
institution of higher education, including enrollment by a transfer
or returning student except as described by Subsection (g); and
(2) fines in amounts established by the institution
for any late, lost, or damaged textbook that was loaned to a student
through the program.
(f-1) Not later than October 1, 2011, each student who is
enrolled in an institution of higher education for the 2011 fall
semester shall pay the one-time textbook program fee in the
applicable amount described by Subsection (f), except that the
institution shall waive the fee for a student in the final year of
the student's degree or certificate program who demonstrates that
the cost of the student's required textbooks for that academic year
is likely to be less than the fee that would otherwise be imposed on
that student under Subsection (f). This subsection expires
September 1, 2014.
(g) An institution of higher education shall indicate on the
student's transcript the student's payment of a textbook program
fee under Subsection (f). A transfer student or a returning student
is not required to pay the applicable fee described by Subsection
(f)(1)(A) or (B) if the student's transcript from any institution
of higher education reflects an earlier payment of that same fee and
the student enrolls at an institution of higher education in the
same level of degree or certificate program as the level of degree
or certificate program for which the student paid the earlier fee.
(h) On request by the institution and a showing of just
cause for the proposed change, the Texas Higher Education
Coordinating Board may adjust for the institution any charge
required to be imposed under Subsection (f).
(i) The governing board may solicit and accept gifts and
grants from any public or private source for purposes of the
program.
(j) The governing board of an institution is not required to
establish a textbook loan program if existing contracts or other
established arrangements with entities operating campus bookstores
do not permit the program or cannot be amended, canceled, or renewed
to accommodate the program.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2011.