Amended in Assembly March 28, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly BillNo. 2214


Introduced by Assembly Member Harper

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Travis Allen, Gallagher, Mathis, and Patterson)

(Coauthor: Senator Huff)

February 18, 2016


An act tobegin insert amend Section 66406.7 of, and toend insert add Section 66407.3begin delete toend deletebegin insert to,end insert the Education Code, relating to public postsecondary education, and making an appropriation therefor.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2214, as amended, Harper. Public postsecondary education: faculty royalty income disclosure.

(1) Existing law, known as the Donahoe Higher Education Act, sets forth the missions and functions of the segments of postsecondary education in this state. The California State University, under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University, the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, and the University of California, under the administration of the Regents of the University of California, constitute the 3 segments of public postsecondary education in this state. Provisions of the Donahoe Higher Education Act apply to the University of California only to the extent that the regents act, by appropriate resolution, to make those provisions applicable.

An existing chapter of the Donahoe Higher Education Act relates to the use of academic materials, and provides that a court of competent jurisdiction is authorized to grant relief that is necessary to enforce the provisions of this chapter, including through the issuance of an injunction.begin insert This chapter also includes the College Textbook Transparency Act which, among other things, provides that certain faculty members, defined as adopters, are authorized to receive royalties or other compensation from sales of course materials that include the instructor’s writing or other work, subject to the employer’s standing policies or collective bargaining agreements relating to employee conflicts of interest.end insert

This bill would add to this chapter a provision that requires the trustees and the governing board of each community college district, and requests the regents, to require their faculty members to annually disclose, on or before April 15, 2017, and on or before April 15 of each year thereafter, on a form and in a manner to be determined by the trustees, the governing board, or the regents, as appropriate, all of the income he or she received in the immediately preceding calendar year from a publisher, periodical, or provider of online content for royalties, advances, consulting services, or for any other purpose.begin insert The bill would require faculty members to whom the bill is applicable to file a form even if they have no disclosable income in the calendar year. The bill would require that these forms be filed under penalty of perjury, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program by expanding the scope of the crime of perjury.end insert

The bill would require that the information provided by the faculty members under this bill be available to the public on the Internet Web site of the institution at which the faculty members teach, as specified. The bill would authorize the trustees, community college governing boards, or regents to require a faculty member who does not file the information required under this bill in a timely manner to pay an administrative fine of up tobegin delete 25% of the unreported income or $5,000, whichever is smaller,end deletebegin insert $50,end insert as specified.

The bill would authorize the trustees and the community college district governing boards to expend the proceeds of these fines for general educational purposes at the campuses at which the faculty members who were assessed the fines were employed. With respect to the California State University, the bill would establish the California State University Faculty Royalty Disclosure Fund as a continuously appropriated fund for the deposit of fine proceeds and their allocation to the appropriate campuses. The bill would request the regents to allocate the proceeds of any administrative fines they collect pursuant to the bill in a manner similar to that described for the California State University.

To the extent that this provision would impose new duties on community college districts, this bill would constitute a state-mandated local program.

begin delete

(2) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

end delete
begin delete

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.

end delete
begin insert

(2) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

end insert
begin insert

This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

end insert
begin insert

With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

end insert

Vote: majority. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

P3    1begin insert

begin insertSECTION 1.end insert  

end insert

begin insertSection 66406.7 of the end insertbegin insertEducation Codeend insertbegin insert is amended
2to read:end insert

3

66406.7.  

(a) This section shall be known and may be cited as
4the College Textbook Transparency Act.

5(b) As used in this section, the following terms have the
6following meanings:

7(1) “Adopter” means any faculty member or academic
8department or other adopting entity at an institution of higher
9education responsible for considering and choosing course
10materials to be used in connection with the accredited courses
11taught at that institution.

12(2) “Complimentary copies” or “review course materials” only
13includes books that in all appearances are the same as the regular
P4    1student edition of the textbook, and contain no material other than
2that found in the regular student edition of the textbook.

3(3) “Instructor copies” or “complimentary teacher editions”
4means books with information that is meant to be for the exclusive
5use of teachers and not for students. These books contain answers
6and solutions, test questions, and pedagogical techniques, and are
7often labeled instructor’s edition or instructor’s manuals.

8(4) “New edition of textbook” means a subsequent version of
9an earlier standard textbook. A standard textbook is the primary,
10full, and unabridged edition of a textbook. An abridged, alternate
11format, or alternate version of a standard textbook shall not be
12considered a new edition.

13(5) “Publisher” means any publishing house, publishing firm,
14or publishing company that publishes textbooks or other course
15materials, specifically designed for postsecondary instruction.

16(6) “Textbook” means a book that contains printed material and
17is intended for use as a source of study material for a class or group
18of students, a copy of which is expected to be available for the use
19of each of the students in that class or group. “Textbook” does not
20include a novel.

21(7) “Unsolicited complimentary copies” means all items
22described in paragraph (2) and that were not requested by faculty
23but are sent by the publisher unsolicited by a faculty or staff
24member.

25(c) (1) Adopters are encouraged to consider cost in the adoption
26of textbooks.

27(2) Publishers shall facilitate the work done by adopters by
28providing transparency in the adoption process and shall be
29 responsive in a timely manner to requests for information on
30textbook cost and content, and the full range of options.

31(d) (1) On or after January 1, 2010, the publisher of a textbook
32shall print on the outer cover of, or within, the standard textbook,
33both of the following items:

34(A)  For any new editions of textbooks initially published on
35or after January 1, 2010, a summary of the substantive content
36differences between the new edition and the prior edition.

37(B) The copyright date of the previous edition of the textbook.

38(2) For instructor copies or complimentary teacher editions, it
39shall be noted on the exterior of the book that the book is an
40instructor’s copy and is not for resale.

P5    1(e) (1) A publisher, or agent or employee of a publisher, of
2textbooks intended for use at a postsecondary educational
3institution shall respond to a request from an adopter for any of
4the following:

5(A) A list of the products offered for sale by that publisher that
6are relevant to the needs and interests of adopters.

7(B) The price at which the new book is available from the
8publisher.

9(C) The copyright date of any prior edition of a textbook, if
10available.

11(D) A list of the substantial content differences or changes made
12between the current edition initially published on or after January
131, 2010, and the previous edition of the textbook, including, but
14not necessarily limited to, new chapters, additional eras of time,
15new themes, or new subject matter.

16(2) The information described in this subdivision shall be
17available in print or electronically to the adopter.

18(f) Each campus bookstore at any public postsecondary
19educational institution shall post in its store or on its Internet Web
20site a disclosure of its retail pricing policy on new and used
21textbooks.

22(g) Each public postsecondary educational institution shall
23encourage adopters with course material selection responsibilities
24to place their orders with sufficient lead time, whenever possible,
25to enable the university-managed bookstore or contract-managed
26bookstore to confirm the availability of the requested materials.

27(h) This section does not limit the authority of faculty over
28decisions relating to the selection of textbooks.

29(i)  An adopter at an institution of higher education shall not
30demand or receive anything of value, including the donation of
31equipment or goods, any payment, loan, advance, or deposit of
32money, present or promised, for adopting specific course materials
33required for coursework or instruction, except that an employee
34may receive any of the following:

35(1) Complimentary copies, review course materials, or instructor
36copies. The adopters shall not sell instructor copies.

37(2) Royalties or other compensation from sales of course
38materials that include the instructor’s writing or other work. Receipt
39of these royalties or compensation is subject to the employer’s
40standing policies or collective bargaining agreements relating to
P6    1employee conflicts ofbegin delete interest.end deletebegin insert interest and, with respect to faculty
2members of the California State University and the California
3Community Colleges, subject to the requirements of Section
466407.3.end insert

5(3) Honoraria for academic peer review of course materials.
6Receipt of honoraria is subject to the employer’s standing policies
7relating to employee conflicts of interest.

8(4) Training in the use of course materials and course
9technologies. Payment for travel and lodging and or meals shall
10be subject to the employer’s standing polices relating to employee
11conflicts of interest and compensation.

12(j) A publisher or campus bookstore shall not solicit faculty for
13the purpose of the sale of instructor copies or complimentary
14teachers editions of textbooks that have been provided by a
15publisher at no charge to a faculty member or other employee.
16This subdivision does not apply to unsolicited complimentary
17copies.

18(k) A campus bookstore shall not engage in any trade of any
19course material marked, or otherwise identified, as instructor copies
20or complementary teachers editions of textbooks.

21(l) Any self-published textbook by an instructor for use with
22that instructor’s class shall be exempt from this section, if the
23instructor discloses the publishing and use of those materials to
24his or her employer institution.

25

begin deleteSECTION 1.end delete
26
begin insertSEC. 2.end insert  

Section 66407.3 is added to the Education Code, to
27read:

28

66407.3.  

(a) The Trustees of the California State University
29and the governing board of each community college district shall,
30and the Regents of the University of California are requested to,
31require its faculty members to annually disclose, on or before April
3215, 2017, and on or before April 15 of each year thereafter, on a
33form and in a manner to be determined by the trustees, the
34governing board, or the regents, as appropriate, all of the income
35he or she received in the immediately preceding calendar year
36from a publisher, periodical, or provider of online content for
37royalties, advances, consulting services, or for any other purpose.
38
begin insert A faculty member to whom this section is applicable shall be
39required to file a form even if he or she has no disclosable income
P7    1in the calendar year. A faculty member shall file the form required
2by this section under penalty of perjury.end insert

3(b) The trustees, community college district governing boards,
4and regents shall ensure that the information provided by the
5faculty members pursuant to subdivision (a) is available to the
6public on the Internet Web site of the institution at which the
7faculty members teach. The information provided by an individual
8faculty member pursuant to this section shall remain available on
9the Internet Web site for as long as that individual is employed as
10a teacher at that institution.

11(c) The trustees, community college district governing board,
12and the regents, as appropriate, may require, with proper notice
13and an opportunity for a hearing, a faculty member who does not
14file the information required pursuant to this section in a timely
15manner to pay an administrative fine of up tobegin delete 25 percent of the
16unreported income or five thousand dollars ($5,000), whichever
17is smaller.end delete
begin insert fifty dollars ($50).end insert The proceeds of any administrative
18finesbegin delete collectedend delete pursuant to this subdivision shall be collected by
19the trustees or by a community college district governing board,
20as appropriate, and shall be deposited in a fund for allocation
21pursuant to subdivision (d).

22(d) (1) The trustees shall deposit the proceeds of administrative
23fines collected pursuant to subdivision (c) into the California State
24University Faculty Royalty Disclosure Fund, which is hereby
25established. Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government
26Code, the moneys in the California State University Faculty
27Royalty Disclosure Fund are continuously appropriated to the
28trustees for allocation for expenditure for general educational
29purposes at the campus at which the faculty member who was
30assessed the fine is employed.

31(2) The governing board of a community college district is
32authorized to expend the proceeds of any administrative fines
33collected pursuant to subdivision (c) for general educational
34purposes at the campus at which the faculty member who was
35assessed the fine is employed.

36(3) The regents are requested to allocate the proceeds of any
37administrative fines collected pursuant to subdivision (c) in a
38manner similar to that described in paragraph (1).

begin delete
39

SEC. 2.  

If the Commission on State Mandates determines that
40this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
P8    1local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
2pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
34 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

end delete
4begin insert

begin insertSEC. 3.end insert  

end insert
begin insert

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
5Section 6 of Article XIII   B of the California Constitution for certain
6costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district
7because, in that regard, this act creates a new crime or infraction,
8eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime
9or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
10Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
11meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII   B of the California
12Constitution.

end insert
begin insert

13
However, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that
14this act contains other costs mandated by the state, reimbursement
15to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
16pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
174 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

end insert


O

    98