SB0325sam001 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Sen. Mattie Hunter

Filed: 3/7/2007

09500SB0325sam001 LRB095 08710 NHT 32911 a

AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 325

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 325 by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the following:

"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, but does not include a public institution of higher education whose primary method of textbook issuance is through a rental program.

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 within reasonable expediency after the information becomes available; 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 demanding or receiving any present or promised gift, payment, loan, subscription, advance deposit of money, services, or other thing of value as an inducement for the selection of any specific textbook or supplemental material for use in an academic course taught at the public institution of higher education. This item (3) does not prevent instructors of the public institution of higher education from receiving any of the following:

(A) Sample copies, instructor's copies, or instructional materials.

(B) Royalties or other compensation from sales of textbooks or supplemental materials that include the instructor's own writing or written work, as determined by the textbook advisory committee.

(C) Training in the use of course materials and learning technologies.

(D) Honoraria for academic peer review of course materials.

(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. Each public institution of higher education 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.".