Bill: SB 915, 84(R) - 2015

Committee

Senate Higher Education

Vote Recommendation

Vote Recommendation Economic Freedom Property Rights Personal Responsibility Limited Government Individual Liberty
Yes Positive Neutral Neutral Neutral Neutral

Author(s)

Lois Kolkhorst

Bill Caption

Relating to the textbook affordability pilot program and to certain studies and reports by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board regarding achievable cost-saving measures and the use and availability of electronic, public domain, and open source textbooks at institutions of higher education

Fiscal Notes

No significant fiscal implication to State or local government.

Bill Analysis

SB 915 would add a section to the Education Code that would establish a pilot program at Texas A&M University for textbook affordability. The pilot program shall require that each faculty member calculate the cost of books for each course and send the estimated cost to the department administering the program. The estimated costs would be prominently displayed in course description and syllabus and the department would be required to use electronic, public domain, or open source books when possible. This program would expire in 2019. A study would be conducted on the use of electronic, public domain, and open source books and a report would be submitted to the state of Texas by December 2016 on the results of the pilot program.

Vote Recommendation Notes

This bill affirms the principle of free markets, therefore we support this legislation. With high costs of education, it is important to help students alleviate costs as much as possible. A market based solution to high textbook costs that provides options other than textbook publishers would be a step in the right direction. The pilot program would also allow evaluation of results to determine if the program had the desired results.  Overall, we support SB 915.

Source URL (retrieved on 03/28/2024 11:03 AM): http://reports.texasaction.com/bill/84r/sb915?print_view=true