82R9083 KEL-D

By: Vo H.B. No. 3094

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the establishment of textbook loan programs at public institutions of higher education in this state.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Subchapter Z, Chapter 51, Education Code, is amended by adding Section 51.976 to read as follows:

Sec. 51.976. TEXTBOOK LOAN PROGRAM. (a) In this section, "general academic teaching institution," "governing board," "institution of higher education," "public junior college," "public state college," and "public technical institute" have the meanings assigned by Section 61.003.

(b) Subject to Subsection (j), the governing board of each institution of higher education shall establish a textbook loan program for the benefit of students enrolled in each degree or certificate program offered by the institution.

(c) In establishing the program, the governing board of the institution shall:

(1) adopt appropriate procedures and policies for the program;

(2) coordinate those procedures and policies with other institutions of higher education to identify best prices and practices for purchasing or otherwise obtaining the textbooks required for courses offered by the institution;

(3) accept bids from textbook publishers for the purpose of purchasing the required textbooks directly from those publishers;

(4) to cover the costs of administering the program and building and maintaining an appropriate stock of textbooks, establish within the institution a textbook loan fund that is composed of student charges imposed under Subsection (f) and gifts and grants accepted under Subsection (i); and

(5) create a task force to recommend program procedures and policies to the governing board.

(d) A task force created under Subsection (c)(5) may include students, faculty, administrators, and campus bookstore representatives.

(e) A textbook loan program may not limit the authority of faculty members to select appropriate instructional materials in accordance with the institution's other policies and procedures.

(f) To cover the costs of administering the program and building and maintaining an appropriate stock of textbooks, the institution may impose the following charges on students enrolled at the institution:

(1) a textbook program fee imposed on each student in the following amounts:

(A) $500 on the student's initial enrollment in an undergraduate degree or certificate program at a general academic teaching institution other than a public state college, including enrollment by a transfer or returning student except as described by Subsection (g); and

(B) $300 on the student's initial enrollment at a public junior college, public state college, or public technical institute, or in a graduate or professional degree program at an institution of higher education, including enrollment by a transfer or returning student except as described by Subsection (g); and

(2) fines in amounts established by the institution for any late, lost, or damaged textbook that was loaned to a student through the program.

(f-1) Not later than October 1, 2011, each student who is enrolled in an institution of higher education for the 2011 fall semester shall pay the one-time textbook program fee in the applicable amount described by Subsection (f), except that the institution shall waive the fee for a student in the final year of the student's degree or certificate program who demonstrates that the cost of the student's required textbooks for that academic year is likely to be less than the fee that would otherwise be imposed on that student under Subsection (f). This subsection expires September 1, 2014.

(g) An institution of higher education shall indicate on the student's transcript the student's payment of a textbook program fee under Subsection (f). A transfer student or a returning student is not required to pay the applicable fee described by Subsection (f)(1)(A) or (B) if the student's transcript from any institution of higher education reflects an earlier payment of that same fee and the student enrolls at an institution of higher education in the same level of degree or certificate program as the level of degree or certificate program for which the student paid the earlier fee.

(h) On request by the institution and a showing of just cause for the proposed change, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board may adjust for the institution any charge required to be imposed under Subsection (f).

(i) The governing board may solicit and accept gifts and grants from any public or private source for purposes of the program.

(j) The governing board of an institution is not required to establish a textbook loan program if existing contracts or other established arrangements with entities operating campus bookstores do not permit the program or cannot be amended, canceled, or renewed to accommodate the program.

SECTION 2. 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, 2011.