98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2013 and 2014
HB3241

 

Introduced , by Rep. Kenneth Dunkin

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
New Act

    Creates the Accountability in College Textbook Publishing Practices Act. Provides that if a publisher provides a faculty member or entity in charge of selecting course materials at an institution of higher education with information regarding a college textbook or supplemental material, the publisher shall include specified information in its communication. Sets forth requirements for when a publisher provides a faculty member or entity in charge of selecting course materials at an institution with the price at which the publisher would make a college textbook or supplemental material available to the institution's campus bookstore. Provides that a publisher that sells a college textbook and any supplemental material as a bundle shall also make the college textbook and each item of supplemental material available as separate and unbundled items at separate prices. Provides that if a faculty member or entity in charge of selecting course materials at an institution directs a publisher to compile a custom textbook, the publisher shall provide the price at which the publisher would make the custom textbook available to the campus bookstore. Contains an enforcement provision.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning education.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5Accountability in College Textbook Publishing Practices Act.
 
6    Section 5. Findings. The General Assembly finds the
7following:
8        (1) It is critical for the future health of the economy
9    of this State to support the education of its youth so that
10    they can attain the degrees and credentials they need to
11    enter the evolving workforce.
12        (2) While more than 80% of the 23,000,000 jobs to be
13    created nationwide over the next 10 years will require
14    postsecondary education, only 36% of all 18 to 24-year-olds
15    are currently enrolled in postsecondary educational
16    institutions.
17        (3) Students in this State are struggling to enroll in
18    postsecondary educational institutions due to finances as,
19    according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office
20    (GAO), tuition and fees have increased at an average rate
21    of 7% annually, while other prices have risen at only about
22    3% annually.
23        (4) High college textbook costs further add to this

 

 

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1    financial burden. The College Board reports that during the
2    2011-2012 academic year the average student spent an
3    estimated $1,168 for course materials, including college
4    books and supplies.
5        (5) The College Board finds that this figure
6    constitutes 6.1% of the estimated annual costs of education
7    for the typical resident student at a 4-year university,
8    and the GAO finds that at community colleges, college
9    textbooks can comprise 75% of total student costs.
10        (6) As a result, a survey conducted by the Student
11    Public Interest Research Groups found that 7 in 10 students
12    reported foregoing the purchase of a textbook because of
13    its cost even though 78% believed it could hurt their
14    academic performance.
15        (7) The Section of the federal Higher Education
16    Opportunity Act (Public Law 110-315), passed by Congress in
17    2008, concerning textbook information sought to decrease
18    the costs of course materials for students by enhancing
19    transparency and disclosure with respect to the selection,
20    purchase, sale, and use of course materials.
21        (8) This Section of the Higher Education Opportunity
22    Act lacks enforcement mechanisms and does not serve to
23    decrease costs to students as well as it could.
24        (9) Adding enforcement measures in this State to
25    complement the existing Section of the Higher Education
26    Opportunity Act concerning textbook information could more

 

 

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1    effectively help to lower student expenditures on
2    textbooks and to ensure that students have access to the
3    textbooks they need to receive the highest quality
4    education possible.
 
5    Section 10. Definitions. In this Act:
6    "Bundle" means one or more college textbooks or other
7supplemental learning materials that may be packaged together
8to be sold as course material for one price.
9    "Campus bookstore" means the bookstore on the campus of or
10otherwise associated with an institution of higher education.
11    "College textbook" means a textbook or set of textbooks
12used for or in conjunction with a course at an institution of
13higher education.
14    "Custom textbook" means a college textbook that is compiled
15by a publisher at the direction of a faculty member or other
16person or adopting entity in charge of selecting course
17materials at an institution of higher education and may
18include, alone or in combination, items such as selections from
19original instructor materials, previously copyrighted
20publisher materials, copyrighted, third-party works, and
21elements unique to a specific institution, such as
22commemorative editions.
23    "Institution" means an institution of higher education in
24this State.
25    "Integrated textbook" means a college textbook that is

 

 

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1combined with supplemental materials developed by a third party
2that, by third-party contractual agreement, may not be offered
3by publishers separately from the college textbook with which
4the supplemental materials are combined. "Integrated textbook"
5also means a textbook that is combined with supplemental
6materials that are so interrelated with the content of the
7textbook that the separation of the textbook from the
8supplemental materials would render the textbook unusable for
9its intended purpose.
10    "Publisher" means a publisher of college textbooks or
11supplemental materials that markets college textbooks or
12supplemental materials to faculty members at institutions of
13higher education.
14    "Substantial content" means parts of a college textbook,
15such as new chapters, additional eras of time, new themes, or
16new subject matter.
17    "Supplemental material" means educational material
18developed to accompany a college textbook, which may include
19printed materials, computer disks, Internet website access,
20and electronically distributed materials.
21    "Writing" includes electronic communications.
 
22    Section 15. Requirements.
23    (a) If a publisher provides a faculty member or entity in
24charge of selecting course materials at an institution with
25information regarding a college textbook or supplemental

 

 

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1material, the publisher shall include all of the following
2information, in writing, in its communication:
3        (1) The price at which the publisher would make the
4    college textbook or supplemental material available to the
5    institution's campus bookstore.
6        (2) The copyright dates of the 3 previous editions of
7    the college textbook in the preceding 10 years, if any.
8        (3) The substantial content revisions made between the
9    current edition of the college textbook or supplemental
10    material and the previous edition, if any.
11        (4) Whether the college textbook or supplemental
12    material is available in any other format, including
13    paperback or unbound, and the price at which the publisher
14    would make the college textbook or supplemental material in
15    the other format available to the institution's campus
16    bookstore.
17    (b) If a publisher provides a faculty member or entity in
18charge of selecting course materials at an institution with the
19price at which the publisher would make the college textbook or
20supplemental material available to the institution's campus
21bookstore, as required by this Section, the publisher shall do
22both of the following:
23        (1) Make the college textbook or supplemental material
24    available to that institution's campus bookstore at or
25    below that price for at least 6 months.
26        (2) Notify the faculty member or entity in charge of

 

 

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1    selecting course materials and the campus bookstore, in
2    writing, of any increase in the price of the textbook or
3    supplemental material, including the amount of the
4    increase, at least 45 days in advance of the increase.
5    (c) A publisher that sells a college textbook and any
6supplemental material as a bundle shall also make the college
7textbook and each item of supplemental material available as
8separate and unbundled items at separate prices, except that
9this subsection (c) does not apply to integrated textbooks.
10    (d) If a faculty member or entity in charge of selecting
11course materials at an institution directs a publisher to
12compile a custom textbook, the publisher shall provide, in
13writing, prior to accepting an order for the custom textbook,
14the price at which the publisher would make the custom textbook
15available to the campus bookstore.
16    (e) A publisher violating any of the provisions of this
17Section may be enjoined by any court of competent jurisdiction
18upon action for injunction, and the court shall, after proof of
19violation, issue an injunction or other appropriate order
20restraining the publisher's conduct.