BILL NUMBER: SB 832 ENROLLED
BILL TEXT
PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 6, 2007
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 4, 2007
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 30, 2007
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JULY 11, 2007
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 26, 2007
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 18, 2007
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 9, 2007
INTRODUCED BY Senator Corbett
(Coauthors: Senators Alquist and Romero)
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Galgiani)
FEBRUARY 23, 2007
An act to add Section 66407 to the Education Code, relating to
postsecondary education.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 832, Corbett. Postsecondary education: textbooks.
The Donahoe Higher Education Act authorizes the activities of the
4 segments of the higher education system in the state. These
segments include the 3 public segments: the University of California,
which is administered by the Regents of the University of
California, the California State University, which is administered by
the Trustees of the California State University, and the California
Community Colleges, which is administered by the Board of Governors
of the California Community Colleges. Private and independent
institutions of higher education constitute the other segment.
Provisions of the Donahoe Higher Education Act apply to the
University of California only to the extent that the regents act, by
resolution, to make them applicable.
Existing law urges textbook publishers to take specified actions
aimed at reducing the amounts that postsecondary education students
currently pay for textbooks. Existing law requires the Trustees of
the California State University and the Board of Governors of the
California Community Colleges, and requests the Regents of the
University of California, among other things, to work with the
academic senates of each respective segment to encourage faculty to
give consideration to the least costly practices in assigning
textbooks, to encourage faculty to disclose to students how new
editions of textbooks are different from previous editions and the
cost to students for textbooks selected, to review procedures for
faculty to inform college and university bookstores of textbook
selections, and to encourage faculty to work closely with publishers
and college and university bookstores in creating bundles and
packages that are economically sound and deliver cost savings to
students.
Existing law expresses the intent of the Legislature to encourage
private colleges and universities to work with their respective
academic senates and to encourage faculty to consider practices in
selecting textbooks that will result in the lowest costs to students.
This bill would express findings and declarations of the
Legislature relating to the cost of college and university textbooks.
The bill would add the College Textbook Affordability Act to the
Donahoe Higher Education Act. The bill would require the publisher of
a textbook, as defined, its agents, and employees to make available
to each prospective purchaser, as defined to mean the faculty member
who selects the textbooks for his or her students, of that textbook
at a postsecondary educational institution, a complete list of all of
the products, as defined, offered for sale by that publisher and
that are germane to the subject area of interest to the prospective
purchaser, for each product listed, the wholesale or retail price of
that product and the estimated length of time that the publisher
intends to keep that product on the market, and a complete list of
all substantive differences or changes made between the current
edition and the most recent previous edition of the textbook.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) Textbooks are an essential part of a comprehensive and
high-quality postsecondary education. The availability and
affordability of textbooks directly impact the quality and
affordability of postsecondary education. It is in the best interests
of the state that high-quality course materials be available and
affordable to students.
(b) Textbooks are expensive. The General Accounting Office and
independent student research have shown that textbook prices are, as
of 2005, 26 percent of the cost of tuition at an average four-year
university and 72 percent of tuition at the average community
college.
(c) Textbook publishers artificially inflate prices through a
number of practices, including:
(1) Undermining the used book market by often producing new
editions of textbooks that contain few, if any, changes from one
edition to the other.
(2) Inflating textbook prices by "bundling" textbooks with
additional items that both students and faculty report are not
actually used for class, but which do drive up the price of the
textbooks.
(3) Keeping faculty members in the dark about the costs of
textbooks, so that they are unable to make educated purchasing
decisions for their students.
(d) To deliver high-quality materials to students that are
affordable, all of the following should occur:
(1) Textbook publishers should produce textbooks that are as
inexpensive as possible without sacrificing the educational quality
of the textbooks.
(2) Textbook publishers should keep their products on the market
for as long as possible without sacrificing educational quality.
Textbook revisions should only be done if there is significant new
content to the subject materials.
(3) Textbook publishers should disclose to faculty members and the
public all of the different products they sell, and they should list
how much each of those products cost and the length of time they
intend to produce each product.
(4) Textbook publishers should ensure that any textbooks and
supplementary items that are bundled together should also be
available for purchase separately.
(5) Faculty should consider the least costly practices in
assigning textbooks when these practices are educationally sound, as
determined by the appropriate faculty.
(6) College and university bookstores should work with faculty to
review timelines and processes involved in ordering and stocking
selected textbooks, disclose textbook costs to faculty and students,
and actively promote and publicize book buyback programs.
(7) Colleges and universities should do everything within their
power to promote a vibrant used book market, including, but not
necessarily limited to, used book exchange and rental programs.
(e) The production and pricing of college textbooks deserves a
high level of attention from educators and lawmakers because
textbooks impact the quality and affordability of higher education.
(f) The Legislature urges textbook publishers, faculty members,
bookstores, and colleges and universities to adopt the solutions
proposed in subdivision (d).
SEC. 2. Section 66407 is added to the Education Code, to read:
66407. (a) This section shall be known as, and may be cited as,
the College Textbook Affordability Act.
(b) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(1) "Postsecondary educational institution" includes both public
and private postsecondary educational institutions.
(2) "Product" includes each different version of a particular
textbook or set of textbooks in a particular subject area, and
includes a supplemental item, whether that item is sold separately or
concurrently with a textbook.
(3) "Purchaser" means a member of a college or university faculty
who chooses the textbooks to be assigned to the students enrolled in
the classes taught by him or her.
(4) "Textbook" is a book intended for use as a principal source of
study material for a class or group of students, a copy of which is
expected to be available for the individual use of each student in
that class or group.
(c) Each publisher, agent, or employee of a publisher of textbooks
intended for use at a postsecondary educational institution shall
provide prospective purchasers at a postsecondary educational
institution with all of the following:
(1) A complete list of all of the products offered for sale by
that publisher and that are germane to the subject area of interest
to the prospective purchaser.
(2) For each product listed pursuant to paragraph (1), the
wholesale or retail price of that product and the estimated length of
time that the publisher intends to keep that product on the market.
(3) For each new edition of a product listed pursuant to paragraph
(1), a complete list of all substantive differences or changes made
between the current edition and the most recent previous edition of
the textbook.
(d) The lists required by subdivision (c) shall be made available
to the prospective purchaser at the start of any sales interaction at
a postsecondary educational institution, whether that interaction is
in person, by telephone, or electronic. The lists required by
subdivision (c) shall also be made available in a prominent position
on the Internet Web site of the publisher.