BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1539|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1539
Author: Corbett (D)
Amended: 5/2/12
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 7-2, 4/25/12
AYES: Lowenthal, Alquist, Hancock, Liu, Price, Simitian,
Vargas
NOES: Blakeslee, Huff
NO VOTE RECORDED: Runner, Vacancy
SUBJECT : Postsecondary education: textbooks
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill requires textbook publishers to
provide to faculty at the commencement of sales
interactions specific information about all products the
publisher sells in the subject area.
ANALYSIS : The federal Higher Education Opportunity Act
(HEOA) requires publishers (when providing information to
faculty or others who select course materials at an
institution of higher education receiving federal financial
assistance) to include in writing:
1.The price at which the publisher would make the textbook
or supplemental material available to the campus
bookstore and, if available, the price at which the
material is available to the public.
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2.The copyright dates of the three previous editions.
3.A description of the substantial content revisions made
between the current edition and the previous edition.
4.Whether the textbook or supplemental material is
available in any other format, including paperback and
unbound.
The federal HEOA requires each institution of higher
education to:
1.Disclose in the institution's Internet course schedule,
for each course listed, the International Standard Book
Number (ISBN) and retail price of required and
recommended college textbooks and supplemental materials.
2.Make available to a college bookstore the most accurate
information available regarding the course schedule and
for each course offered the ISBN, retail price, number of
students enrolled in the course, and the maximum student
enrollment for the course.
The College Textbook Transparency Act requires, beginning
January 1, 2010:
1.Textbook publishers to print on the cover or within each
textbook a summary of the substantive content differences
between the new and prior editions, and the copyright
date of the previous edition.
2.Each campus bookstore at any public college or university
to post in its store or on its website a disclosure of
its retail pricing policy on new and used textbooks.
3.Each public college or university to encourage personnel
responsible for selecting course materials (typically
faculty) to place their orders with sufficient lead time
to enable the bookstore to confirm the availability of
the requested materials.
Existing law requires:
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1.The CSU and CCC, and encourages the UC, to work with the
academic senates of each segment to encourage faculty to
give consideration to the least costly practices in
assigning textbooks and to work with publishers and
college bookstores.
2.College bookstores to work with the academic senates of
each campus to review the process and timelines involved
in ordering and stocking textbooks and to create bundles
and packages of instructional materials that are
economically sound.
3.Urges textbook publishers to provide specific information
to faculty and post that information on the company's
website, give preference to supplements rather than
producing a new edition and disclose the length of time
the current edition is intended to be in production.
4.Requires textbook publishers, by January 1, 2020, to make
the textbooks available, in whole or in part, for sale in
an electronic format. The electronic version of any
textbook must contain the same content as the printed
version and may be copy-protected.
This bill requires textbook publishers to provide to
faculty at the commencement of sales interactions specific
information about all products the publisher sells in the
subject area. Specifically, this bill:
1.Requires textbook publishers to provide to a prospective
purchaser of the textbook with all of the following:
A. A list of all the products offered for sale by the
publisher germane to the prospective purchaser's
subject area of interest.
B. The wholesale or retail price of the product, and
the estimated length of time the publisher intends to
keep the product on the market.
C. For each new edition, a list of the substantial
content differences or changes between the new edition
and the previous edition of the textbook.
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1.Requires publishers to make the information available to
a prospective purchaser at the commencement of a sales
interaction, including but not limited to, a sales
interaction conducted in person, by telephone or
electronically.
2.Requires publishers to post the information on their
websites.
3.Defines the following:
A. "Product" means each version including, but not
limited to, a version in a digital format, of a
textbook, or set of textbooks, in a particular subject
area, including supplementals whether or not the
supplementals are sold separately or together with a
textbook.
B. "Publisher" has the same meaning as in the College
Textbook Transparency Act, which is any publishing
house, publishing firm, or publishing company that
publishes textbooks or other course materials,
specifically designed for postsecondary instruction.
C. "Purchaser" means a faculty member of a public or
private postsecondary education institution who
selects the textbooks assigned to students.
D. "Textbook" has the same meaning as in the College
Textbook Transparency Act, which is any book that
contains printed material and is intended for use as a
source of study material for a class or group of
students, a copy of which is expected to be available
for the use of each of the students in that class or
group. "Textbook" does not include a novel.
Comments
Existing law already requires publishers to give to faculty
(at both public and private universities) information about
differences from prior editions, and the price the textbook
will be offered to the campus bookstore and to the public.
Publishers are not required to disclose the estimated
length of time the product will be on the market, but
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publishers are already required to disclose to faculty the
copyright dates of the three previous editions.
This bill essentially restates federal law with respect to
publishers providing specific information about textbooks,
and adds requirements that publishers provide to faculty a
list of the all products and the anticipated length the
product will be on the market. This bill also requires
publishers to list information about textbooks on their
websites.
List of all products . This bill requires publishers to
disclose to faculty all products offered for sale that are
germane to the faculty's subject area of interest. This
bill defines "product" to include each version of a
textbook or set of textbooks, including a supplemental item
whether or not the supplemental item is sold separately or
together with a textbook. Instructional materials may be
offered in formats other than print. Current law requires
publishers to disclose to faculty if textbooks are
available in other formats, such as paperback or unbound,
but is silent about digital formats.
Time on the market . This bill requires publishers to
provide to faculty the estimated length of time the
publisher intends to keep the product on the market.
Publishers may not have a planned schedule for prospective
editions. Current law requires publishers to provide to
faculty the copyright dates of the three previous editions
of textbooks, so it's possible for a publisher or faculty
to identify if there is a pattern for the introduction of
new editions.
Wholesale or retail price . This bill requires publishers
to provide to faculty the wholesale or retail price of the
product. It is necessary to make the distinction of
wholesale or retail (rather than wholesale and retail) due
to concerns about putting publishers at a competitive
disadvantage when releasing wholesale pricing information.
Federal report due in 2013 . The federal Higher Education
Opportunity Act requires the Comptroller General of the
United States to report, by July 1, 2013, on the
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implementation of the requirements imposed upon
institutions of higher education, college bookstores and
publishers, and particularly examine:
The availability of college textbook information on
course schedules.
The provision of pricing information to faculty by
publishers.
The use of bundled and unbundled material.
The implementation of the HEOA by institutions of higher
education, including the costs and benefits to such
institutions and to students.
Prior legislation
SB 832 (Corbett, 2007) was nearly identical to this bill.
SB 832 was vetoed by the Governor, whose veto message read:
I am supportive of efforts to address the cost of
college textbooks and share the concern that these
education costs have an impact on the affordability of
college for many students. However, this bill focuses
strictly on textbook publisher policies and fails to
recognize that the affordability of textbooks is a
shared responsibility among publishers, college
bookstores, and faculty members.
Therefore, instead of this bill, I am signing Assembly
Bill 1548. Many of the same concepts in SB 832 are
included in AB 1548, but AB 1548 recognizes the shared
responsibility and attempts to address the issue in a
more comprehensive manner.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/2/12)
Associated Students of the University of California, Davis
California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office
California Faculty Association
CALPIRG
Community College League
Faculty Association of California Community Colleges
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Kern Community College District
Los Rios Community College District
Rio Hondo Community College District
San Diego Community College District
University of California
West Kern Community College District
OPPOSITION : (Verified 5/2/12)
Association of American Publishers
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author,
"Increases in textbook prices have outpaced median
household income. Textbook prices have steadily increased
over the last four years, at four times the rate of
inflation. According to a Bureau of State Audits report,
on average, publishers release a new or revised edition
every three or four years, with each one costing 12% more
than the last. The report also found that faculty often
fail to consider the cost of textbooks when making course
selection. By having textbook pricing information
automatically available at the start of a transaction,
faculty would be able to make an informed decision on what
to purchase by comparing product prices and differences in
content."
Supporters argue, "Students are making tough choices when
it comes to purchasing books for their postsecondary
education classes. In a nationwide survey conducted by
Student Monitor, it was found that 40% of students did not
purchase all of the required books for classes because they
could not afford them. On average, publishers release a
new or revised edition every three or four years, with each
one costing 12% more than the last. In addition, the audit
report found that faculty of higher education institutions
often fail to consider the cost of textbooks when making
course selection. Information and transparency is needed to
ensure that faulty has the necessary cost comparison
analysis when deciding which books to require. SB 1539
would require the publisher to provide prescribed data
about the textbook to prospective purchasers, such as a
list of all products offered for sale that are relevant to
the subject area of a perspective purchaser, the
wholesale/rental price of the product, and the estimated
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length of time that the publisher intends to keep the
product on the market, all substantive changes between a
new edition and tis previous edition. By having textbook
pricing information automatically available at the start of
a transaction, faculty would be able to make an informed
decision on what to purchase by comparing product prices."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : Opponents argue, "SB 1539 would
require that at the start of very sales interaction a
publisher would provide all prospective 'purchasers,' i.e.,
adopters, a list of all products 'germane to the
prospective purchaser's subject area of interest' along
with wholesale and retail prices of those products and the
estimated length of time that the publisher intends to keep
each product on the market. The sales interactions could
be in person, by telephone or electronic. In addition, the
entire product list would have to be posted in a prominent
position on the publisher's website. This bill's
requirements would be burdensome, largely redundant of
federal and state laws and would create an unnecessary
information overload for any faculty member or committee
interested in adopting a print or digital textbook and
related course material. A major publisher will frequently
offer dozens of different titles in a subject area and each
of those titles may have 10, 20 or more print or digital
option and supplements that accompany each title with
different prices available based on dozens or hundreds of
variable factors. Providing all of this information in a
single document, even if it were actually possible, could
require hundreds of pages of data."
PQ:nl 5/2/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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