SB0325 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB095 08710 NHT 28893 b

95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2007 and 2008
SB0325

Introduced 2/7/2007, by Sen. Mattie Hunter

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act
30 ILCS 805/8.31 new

Creates the Textbook Advisory Committee Act. Requires a textbook advisory committee to be established in the office of the provost or chief academic officer of each public institution of higher education in this State. Specifies who must serve on the committee. Provides that a committee shall establish and implement certain policies with respect to textbooks. Provides that the committee shall report annually to the Board of Higher Education or the Illinois Community College Board, as appropriate, on measures undertaken to reduce textbook costs and provide students with cost-saving alternatives. Requires certain information to be included in the report. Repeals the Act on June 30, 2015. Amends the State Mandates Act to require implementation without reimbursement.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning education.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Textbook Advisory Committee Act.

Section 5. Findings; purpose. The General Assembly finds that the State and its residents would benefit from increased affordability at public institutions of higher education. In pursuit of this common goal, the faculty and administration at all public institutions of higher education must consider the most cost-effective practices in textbook decision-making. The purpose of this Act is to foster the development of institutional textbook adoption policies with the aim of reducing textbook costs to students.

Section 10. Definition. In this Act, "public institution of higher education" means an institution that is included in the definition of "public institutions of higher education" under the Board of Higher Education Act.

Section 15. Textbook advisory committees established. A textbook advisory committee must be established in the office of the provost or chief academic officer of each public institution of higher education. The committee must be comprised of cross-disciplinary teams of faculty and representatives of the administration, representatives of the bookstore or bookstores that provide textbooks, and students.

Section 20. Policies. A textbook advisory committee established under this Act shall establish and implement policies to do all of the following:

(1) Establish deadlines for faculty to notify a bookstore or bookstores of textbooks selected for the pending semester or other term.

(2) Ensure the publication, on the public institution of higher education's Internet website or at other appropriate venues, of the title, author, International Standard Book Number (ISBN), and retail price of new and used textbooks by 60 days before the start of the semester or other term; and ensure the availability of information regarding how current editions of textbooks differ from previous editions.

(3) Prohibit employees of the public institution of higher education and academic departments from receiving payments in exchange for selection of specific course materials. This item (3) does not preclude an employee from receiving royalties based on the sales of his or her own work.

(4) Foster the establishment of textbook reserves, including online electronic collections ("e-reserves"), for student use in campus libraries or academic departments, free of charge.

(5) Encourage buy-back programs to expand the availability of used textbooks and reduce student costs.

(6) Provide support for the creation or operation of campus book swaps.

The committee may implement other policies as desired to provide textbook cost savings to students.

Section 25. Report. A textbook advisory committee established under this Act shall report annually to the Board of Higher Education or the Illinois Community College Board, as appropriate, on measures undertaken to reduce textbook costs and provide students with cost-saving alternatives. The report shall include a full listing of student costs for a representative sample of textbooks for coursework for first-time, full-time students in a manner prescribed by the Board of Higher Education or the Illinois Community College Board, as appropriate.

Section 80. Expiration. This Act is repealed on June 30, 2015.

Section 90. The State Mandates Act is amended by adding Section 8.31 as follows:

(30 ILCS 805/8.31 new)

Sec. 8.31. Exempt mandate. Notwithstanding Sections 6 and 8 of this Act, no reimbursement by the State is required for the implementation of any mandate created by the Textbook Advisory Committee Act.