Bill Text: MS HB297 | 2012 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: "Mississippi Postsecondary Textbook Pricing and Access Act of 2012"; create.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2012-03-06 - Died In Committee [HB297 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2012-HB297-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2012 Regular Session
To: Universities and Colleges; Appropriations
By: Representative Evans (91st)
House Bill 297
AN ACT TO BE KNOWN AS THE "MISSISSIPPI POSTSECONDARY TEXTBOOK PRICING AND ACCESS ACT OF 2012"; TO REQUIRE PUBLISHERS SELLING OR DISTRIBUTING MATERIAL FOR USE IN PUBLIC COMMUNITY COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY CLASSROOMS TO DISCLOSE CERTAIN PRICING INFORMATION, FORMAT REVISIONS AND RETURN POLICIES REGARDING THE PURCHASE OF TEXTBOOKS BY STUDENTS; TO DIRECT UNIVERSITY AND COMMUNITY COLLEGE INSTRUCTORS TO PROVIDE ADEQUATE NOTICE OF ORDERS TO APPROPRIATE BOOKSTORES IN ORDER THAT THE INSTRUCTOR WILL BE INFORMED AS TO PRICE, FORMAT AVAILABILITY, AND ANY PLANS FOR REVISION OF THE TEXTBOOK; TO REQUIRE THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF STATE INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING AND THE STATE BOARD FOR COMMUNITY AND JUNIOR COLLEGES TO JOINTLY DEVELOP MATERIALS NECESSARY TO INFORM FACULTY AND STUDENTS AS TO METHODS TO OBTAIN THE LOWEST TEXTBOOK COST; TO AUTHORIZE THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A PILOT TEXTBOOK RENTAL PROGRAM FOR COMMUNITY COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY STUDENTS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. (1) This section shall be known and may be cited as the "Mississippi Postsecondary Textbook Pricing and Access Act of 2012."
(2) (a) The Legislature finds and declares the following:
(i) The increasing cost of postsecondary education and the increase in the price of textbooks places a financial burden on the students and threatens their opportunity for higher education.
(ii) It is in the best interests of the State of Mississippi that high-quality course materials be made available and more affordable to students attending community and junior colleges and universities.
(iii) It is critical that each student has access to all required textbooks before the start of his or her classes.
(iv) To deliver high-quality materials that are affordable to students, all of the following should occur:
1. Textbook publishers should produce textbooks that are as inexpensive as possible without sacrificing educational quality;
2. Textbook publishers should keep their products on the market for as long as possible without sacrificing educational quality, and textbook revisions should be done only when the new content is significant;
3. Textbook publishers should disclose to faculty members and the public all of the different products they sell, the price of each product and how long they intend to produce each product;
4. Textbook publishers should ensure that any textbooks and supplementary items bundled together are also available for purchase separately;
5. Faculty should consider the least costly practices in assigning textbooks, consistent with educationally sound practices;
6. Bookstores should work with faculty to review timeliness and processes for ordering and stocking textbooks, disclose textbook costs and actively promote and publicize book buyback programs; and
7. Public community and junior colleges and universities should do everything possible to promote a vibrant used book market, including, but not limited to, exchange programs, buyback programs and textbook rental programs.
(b) The purpose of this section is to ensure that every student in higher education is offered better and more timely access to affordable textbooks. It is the policy of the State of Mississippi that any community or junior college or university that receives money from the state must work to find ways to decrease the cost of textbooks for students.
(3) For the purposes of this section, the following words and phrases have the meanings ascribed in this section:
(a) "Bundled" means a textbook and any other learning material packaged together to be sold for one (1) price, including, but not limited to, workbooks, dictionaries, CD-ROMS and books.
(b) "Bookstore" means a store that is in the business of selling textbooks, supplemental learning materials, bundled textbook packages and school-related supplies on the campus of or in the near vicinity of a public community or junior college or university in Mississippi.
(c) "Publisher" means a publishing house, firm or company that publishes printed material.
(d) "Required textbook" means any textbook, bundled or unbundled, which is required for a course.
(e) "Supplemental learning material" means learning materials used in teaching a course which supplement the primary textbook in the form of another book, workbook or a CD-ROM.
(4) (a) No public community or junior college or university shall have business dealings related to the sale of textbooks with any publisher that is in violation of this section.
(b) A publisher engaging in a discussion on the sale of any textbook with any faculty member at a public community or junior college or university in Mississippi must disclose at the time of an offering, in writing:
(i) All modifications to all textbook editions printed within the last ten (10) years;
(ii) The price of all textbooks;
(iii) The modifications to all supplemental learning materials within the last ten (10) years;
(iv) The price of all supplemental learning materials;
(v) The total price of the bundled materials if a sale includes supplemental learning materials bundled with a textbook; and
(vi) The modifications to all supplemental learning materials that are bundled with a textbook within the last ten (10) years.
(5) Any faculty member or entity in charge of selecting textbooks, supplemental learning materials and bundled textbook packages must take the following actions:
(a) Consider the least costly practices in assigning textbooks, consistent with educationally sound practices as determined by the appropriate faculty or entity;
(b) Consider the use of textbooks, supplemental learning materials and bundled textbook packages for a longer period of time, to the extent they are not outdated;
(c) Work with bookstores to review timeliness and the processes involved in ordering and stocking selected course materials, disclose textbook costs to students and actively promote and publicize book buyback programs;
(d) Provide a written statement to the president of the community or junior college or university detailing the textbooks or supplemental learning materials, whether bundled or unbundled, that are required for each course and any textbooks or supplementary learning materials, bundled or unbundled, that are recommended for the course; and
(e) Provide a written statement to the president of the community or junior college or university indicating the earliest edition of any required textbook that may be effective for use by a student for a particular course.
Nothing in this section shall prohibit the faculty member from requiring the most recent edition of a textbook.
(6) (a) A publisher may bundle together a required textbook and any other required textbook or required supplemental learning material.
(b) Any bookstore or faculty member that places an order with a publisher for a required textbook or required supplemental learning material bundled with a textbook or supplemental learning material that is not required also must order the textbook in an unbundled form in at least the same quantity as in the bundled form. The requirement for ordering equal quantities does not apply after an initial shipment of bundled and unbundled textbooks if both the faculty member and the bookstore determine that there is a disproportionate need for either bundled or unbundled textbooks.
(7) At student registration, all bookstores and public community and junior colleges and universities shall make available a listing of all textbooks and supplemental learning materials required and recommended for courses taught during the upcoming term. The list must include the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) for each textbook. The listing must be available on the Internet with the web address communicated to students or posted in a nonrestricted area of the bookstore if a web site is unavailable.
(8) Bookstores shall adopt policies to price required textbooks and supplemental learning materials so that they are affordable to students. All community and junior colleges and universities that distribute financial aid to students shall establish policies and procedures to provide credit or financial aid for the purchase of required textbooks and supplies at any bookstore.
SECTION 2. (1) The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning and the State Board for Community and Junior Colleges may establish a textbook rental program for the students at a single campus under the jurisdiction of each which meets the following conditions:
(a) The student government association of the campus votes to request a textbook rental program; and
(b) Any existing contracts or other established arrangements with entities operating bookstores allow or can be made to accommodate a textbook rental program.
(2) A campus with a pilot project may convene a task force to determine recommended policies and procedures to establish and operate a textbook rental program. The task force must include, but not necessarily be limited to, students, faculty, administrators and bookstore managers.
(3) A pilot textbook rental program must comply with the following requirements:
(a) The program must be self-sustaining through revenue generated from student tuition and fees, excluding the initial start-up costs to be paid from supplemental funding from other sources;
(b) The average annual textbook rental cost for full-time students may not exceed thirty-three percent (33%) of the average annual retail purchase cost of textbooks for full-time students;
(c) The program may not limit the rights of faculty to select appropriate textbooks in accordance with established policies and procedures;
(d) Students must have the option to purchase textbooks they rent under the program;
(e) The program may be disbanded with the approval of the student government association of the campus; and
(f) The campus must report to the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning or the State Board for Community and Junior Colleges, as the case may be, for a minimum of four (4) years any information required to effectively evaluate the pilot textbook rental program, including savings to students, system efficiency and faculty satisfaction. After four (4) years, the appropriate board shall report the findings of the pilot textbook rental study to the Chairs of the House and Senate Universities and Colleges Committees.
(4) A participating campus with a textbook rental program may do the following:
(a) Charge a campus-based or course-based textbook rental fee to each student as a part of tuition or mandatory fees to cover the costs of administering the program and maintaining an appropriate stock of textbooks;
(b) Establish policies for the program, including, but not limited to, implementing practices to achieve the best possible purchase price for textbooks and for the provision of rental services;
(c) Charge students a fine for any late, lost or damaged book, as determined by the textbook rental service; and
(d) Establish other procedures required to establish and operate a textbook rental program in accordance with the provisions of this act.
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2012.
