Texas 2011 - 82nd Regular

Texas House Bill HB33 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Branch, et al. (Senate Sponsor - Zaffirini) H.B. No. 33
2	2	(In the Senate - Received from the House April 18, 2011;
3	3	April 26, 2011, read first time and referred to Committee on Higher
4	4	Education; May 20, 2011, reported favorably by the following vote:
5	5	Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 20, 2011, sent to printer.)
6	6
7	7
8	8	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
9	9	AN ACT
10	10	relating to measures to increase the affordability of textbooks
11	11	used for courses at public or private institutions of higher
12	12	education.
13	13	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
14	14	SECTION 1. Chapter 51, Education Code, is amended by adding
15	15	Subchapter I to read as follows:
16	16	SUBCHAPTER I. TEXTBOOKS
17	17	Sec. 51.451. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
18	18	(1) "College bookstore" means a bookstore that is:
19	19	(A) operated by an institution of higher
20	20	education; or
21	21	(B) in a contractual relationship or otherwise
22	22	affiliated with an institution of higher education.
23	23	(2) "Custom textbook" means a textbook that is
24	24	compiled by a publisher at the direction of a faculty member or
25	25	other person in charge of selecting course materials at an
26	26	institution of higher education and that may include items such as
27	27	selections from original instructor materials, previously
28	28	copyrighted publisher materials, copyrighted third-party works, or
29	29	elements unique to a specific institution.
30	30	(3) "Faculty member" has the meaning assigned by
31	31	Section 51.917.
32	32	(4) "Institution of higher education" means:
33	33	(A) an institution of higher education as defined
34	34	by Section 61.003; or
35	35	(B) a private or independent institution of
36	36	higher education as defined by Section 61.003.
37	37	(5) "Supplemental material," with respect to a
38	38	textbook, means instructional material developed to accompany the
39	39	textbook, including printed materials, computer disks, website
40	40	access, and electronically distributed materials, other than
41	41	material that is part of an integrated textbook.
42	42	(6) "Textbook" means a book published primarily for
43	43	instruction in connection with a particular course or courses
44	44	offered to postsecondary students by an institution of higher
45	45	education. The term includes any edition of a textbook or set of
46	46	textbooks and any item considered supplemental specifically to the
47	47	textbook, regardless of whether the textbook and supplemental item
48	48	are sold together or separately.
49	49	(7) "Textbook bundle" means a textbook that is
50	50	combined with other instructional material, such as another
51	51	textbook or additional printed material, a computer disk, website
52	52	access, or electronically distributed material, and that is
53	53	packaged or otherwise offered for sale with that instructional
54	54	material at a single price. The term does not include a textbook
55	55	that is combined with other instructional material if that material
56	56	in its entirety is:
57	57	(A) required to be offered for sale with or as
58	58	part of the textbook, according to a third-party contractual
59	59	agreement; or
60	60	(B) interrelated with the content of the textbook
61	61	to such a degree that any separation of the material from the
62	62	textbook would render the textbook unusable for its intended
63	63	purpose.
64	64	Sec. 51.452. DISSEMINATION OF COURSE SCHEDULE AND LIST OF
65	65	REQUIRED AND RECOMMENDED TEXTBOOKS. (a) Each institution of
66	66	higher education shall:
67	67	(1) for each semester or academic term, compile a
68	68	course schedule indicating each course offered by the institution
69	69	for the semester or term to postsecondary students;
70	70	(2) with respect to each course, include with the
71	71	schedule a list of the required and recommended textbooks that
72	72	specifies, to the extent practicable, the following information for
73	73	each textbook:
74	74	(A) the retail price;
75	75	(B) the author;
76	76	(C) the publisher;
77	77	(D) the most recent copyright date; and
78	78	(E) the International Standard Book Number
79	79	assigned, if any;
80	80	(3) except as provided by Subsection (b), at the time
81	81	required by Subsection (c)(2):
82	82	(A) publish the textbook list with the course
83	83	schedule on the institution's Internet website and with any course
84	84	schedule the institution provides in hard copy format to the
85	85	students of the institution; and
86	86	(B) make that information available to college
87	87	bookstores and other bookstores that generally serve the students
88	88	of the institution; and
89	89	(4) except as provided by Subsection (b), as soon as
90	90	practicable after the information becomes available disseminate as
91	91	required by Subdivision (3) specific information regarding any
92	92	revisions to the institution's course schedule and textbook list.
93	93	(b) An institution of higher education is not required to
94	94	publish a textbook list as described by Subsection (a)(3)(A) or any
95	95	revisions to that textbook list as described by Subsection (a)(4)
96	96	if a college bookstore publishes that list and any revisions to that
97	97	list on the bookstore's Internet website on behalf of the
98	98	institution at the appropriate times required by this section.
99	99	(c) To allow for timely placement of textbook orders by
100	100	students, each institution of higher education shall:
101	101	(1) establish a deadline by which faculty members must
102	102	submit information to be included in the course schedule and
103	103	textbook list required by Subsection (a); and
104	104	(2) disseminate the institution's course schedule and
105	105	textbook list as required by Subsection (a)(3) as soon as
106	106	practicable after the institution has compiled the schedule and
107	107	list but not later than the 30th day before the first day that
108	108	classes are conducted for the semester or other academic term for
109	109	which the schedule and list are compiled.
110	110	Sec. 51.453. TEXTBOOK ASSISTANCE INFORMATION FOR STUDENTS.
111	111	To the extent practicable, an institution of higher education shall
112	112	make reasonable efforts to disseminate to its students information
113	113	regarding:
114	114	(1) available institutional programs for renting
115	115	textbooks or for purchasing used textbooks;
116	116	(2) available institutional guaranteed textbook
117	117	buyback programs;
118	118	(3) available institutional programs for alternative
119	119	delivery of textbook content; and
120	120	(4) other available institutional textbook
121	121	cost-savings strategies.
122	122	Sec. 51.454. TEXTBOOK PUBLISHERS: AVAILABILITY OF
123	123	INFORMATION TO FACULTY CONCERNING TEXTBOOK PRICES, REVISIONS, AND
124	124	COPYRIGHTS. (a) When a textbook publisher provides information
125	125	regarding a textbook or supplemental material to a faculty member
126	126	or other person in charge of selecting course materials at an
127	127	institution of higher education, the publisher shall also provide
128	128	to the faculty member or other person written information that
129	129	includes:
130	130	(1) the price at which the publisher would make the
131	131	textbook or supplemental material available to a college bookstore
132	132	or other bookstore that generally serves the students of the
133	133	institution and, if applicable, to the public;
134	134	(2) the copyright dates of the current and three
135	135	preceding editions of the textbook;
136	136	(3) a description of any substantial content revisions
137	137	made between the current edition of the textbook or supplemental
138	138	material and the most recent preceding edition of the textbook or
139	139	material, including the addition of new chapters, new material
140	140	covering additional time periods, new themes, or new subject
141	141	matter;
142	142	(4) information as to whether the textbook or
143	143	supplemental material is available in other formats, such as a
144	144	paperback or unbound version; and
145	145	(5) the price at which the publisher would make the
146	146	textbook or supplemental material in any alternative format
147	147	available to a bookstore described by Subdivision (1) and, if
148	148	applicable, to the public.
149	149	(b) A textbook publisher shall comply with this section with
150	150	respect to a custom textbook only to the extent reasonably
151	151	practicable.
152	152	Sec. 51.455. TEXTBOOK BUNDLES. A textbook publisher that
153	153	offers a textbook bundle for sale directly to students enrolled at
154	154	an institution of higher education or, for resale purposes, to a
155	155	college bookstore or other bookstore that generally serves the
156	156	students of the institution shall also offer for sale to the
157	157	students or bookstore, as applicable, each individual item of
158	158	instructional material as a separate, unbundled item that is
159	159	separately priced.
160	160	SECTION 2. Subchapter I, Chapter 51, Education Code, as
161	161	added by this Act, applies beginning with the 2012 fall semester.
162	162	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.
163	163	* * * * *