| |
| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to the provision of notice regarding the availability of |
|
|
higher education textbooks through multiple retailers. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Subchapter Z, Chapter 51, Education Code, is |
|
|
amended by adding Section 51.9705 to read as follows: |
|
|
Sec. 51.9705. NOTICE REGARDING AVAILABILITY OF TEXTBOOKS |
|
|
THROUGH MULTIPLE RETAILERS. (a) In this section: |
|
|
(1) "Institution of higher education" has the meaning |
|
|
assigned by Section 61.003. |
|
|
(2) "University-affiliated bookstore" means a |
|
|
bookstore that: |
|
|
(A) sells textbooks for courses offered by an |
|
|
institution of higher education, regardless of whether the |
|
|
bookstore is located on the campus of the institution; and |
|
|
(B) is operated by or with the approval of the |
|
|
institution through ownership, a management agreement, a lease or |
|
|
rental agreement, or otherwise. |
|
|
(b) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall |
|
|
prescribe procedures by which each institution of higher education |
|
|
shall provide to each student enrolled at the institution written |
|
|
notice regarding the availability of required or recommended |
|
|
textbooks through retailers other than university-affiliated |
|
|
bookstores. The procedures must require the institution to provide |
|
|
the notice to students: |
|
|
(1) during the first three weeks of each semester or |
|
|
the first week of a summer term, as applicable; and |
|
|
(2) in a hard copy format in a manner that ensures that |
|
|
the notice is reasonably likely to come to the attention of each |
|
|
student. |
|
|
(c) The notice must: |
|
|
(1) be written in at least 10-point type; and |
|
|
(2) state that a student is not under any obligation to |
|
|
purchase a textbook from a university-affiliated bookstore and that |
|
|
the same textbook may be available from an independent retailer, |
|
|
including an online retailer, at a lower price than the price |
|
|
charged for that textbook by a university-affiliated bookstore. |
|
|
(d) The coordinating board shall adopt rules to administer |
|
|
this section. |
|
|
SECTION 2. (a) The change in law made by this Act applies |
|
|
beginning with the 2009 fall semester. |
|
|
(b) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall |
|
|
adopt rules under Section 51.9705, Education Code, as added by this |
|
|
Act, as soon as practicable after this Act takes effect. For that |
|
|
purpose, the board may adopt the initial rules in the manner |
|
|
provided by law for adoption of emergency rules. |
|
|
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
|
|
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
|
|
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
|
|
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
|
|
Act takes effect September 1, 2009. |