HB 289

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to textbook affordability; amending s.
3	212.08, F.S.; exempting certain textbooks from the tax on
4	sales, use, and other transactions; providing
5	requirements; providing a definition; creating s. 1004.09,
6	F.S.; prohibiting certain actions of community college or
7	state university employees that relate to student purchase
8	of required textbooks; requiring student notification of
9	assigned textbooks; requiring adoption of specified
10	policies and practices to minimize the cost of textbooks;
11	requiring a study and report by the Office of Program
12	Policy Analysis and Government Accountability; providing
13	an effective date.
14
15	WHEREAS, textbooks are an essential part of a comprehensive
16	and high-quality postsecondary education, and
17	WHEREAS, the availability and affordability of textbooks
18	directly impact the quality and affordability of postsecondary
19	education, and
20	WHEREAS, the United States Government Accountability Office
21	recently reported that in the last two decades college textbook
22	prices have increased at twice the rate of inflation, and
23	WHEREAS, the United States Government Accountability Office
24	reported that, while many factors affect textbook pricing, the
25	increasing costs associated with developing instructional
26	supplements to accompany textbooks best explain price increases
27	in recent years, and
28	WHEREAS, the United States Government Accountability Office
29	reported that college textbook prices in the United States may
30	exceed prices in other countries because prices reflect market
31	conditions found in each country, such as the willingness and
32	ability of students to purchase the textbook, and
33	WHEREAS, the cost of textbooks is one component considered
34	in making federal and state-funded financial aid awards, and as
35	such, escalating textbook prices can impact federal and state
36	spending, and
37	WHEREAS, state universities and community colleges should
38	consider the least costly practices in assigning textbooks when
39	such practices are educationally sound, NOW, THEREFORE,
40
41	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
42
43	Section 1.  Paragraph (r) of subsection (7) of section
44	212.08, Florida Statutes, is amended, and paragraph (eee) is
45	added to that subsection, to read:
46	212.08  Sales, rental, use, consumption, distribution, and
47	storage tax; specified exemptions.--The sale at retail, the
48	rental, the use, the consumption, the distribution, and the
49	storage to be used or consumed in this state of the following
50	are hereby specifically exempt from the tax imposed by this
51	chapter.
52	(7)  MISCELLANEOUS EXEMPTIONS.--Exemptions provided to any
53	entity by this chapter do not inure to any transaction that is
54	otherwise taxable under this chapter when payment is made by a
55	representative or employee of the entity by any means,
56	including, but not limited to, cash, check, or credit card, even
57	when that representative or employee is subsequently reimbursed
58	by the entity. In addition, exemptions provided to any entity by
59	this subsection do not inure to any transaction that is
60	otherwise taxable under this chapter unless the entity has
61	obtained a sales tax exemption certificate from the department
62	or the entity obtains or provides other documentation as
63	required by the department. Eligible purchases or leases made
64	with such a certificate must be in strict compliance with this
65	subsection and departmental rules, and any person who makes an
66	exempt purchase with a certificate that is not in strict
67	compliance with this subsection and the rules is liable for and
68	shall pay the tax. The department may adopt rules to administer
69	this subsection.
70	(r)  School books and school lunches.--This exemption
71	applies to school books used in regularly prescribed courses of
72	study, and to school lunches served in public, parochial, or
73	nonprofit schools operated for and attended by pupils of grades
74	K through 12. Yearbooks, magazines, newspapers, directories,
75	bulletins, and similar publications distributed by such
76	educational institutions to their students are also exempt.
77	School Books, other than those provided for in paragraph (eee),
78	and food sold or served at community colleges and other
79	institutions of higher learning are taxable.
80	(eee)  Textbooks.--Also exempt from the tax imposed by this
81	chapter are textbooks purchased by postsecondary degree-seeking
82	students for their courses. This exemption applies only to
83	textbooks that are required or recommended for a course in which
84	such student is enrolled at an eligible institution of higher
85	education. Upon purchase of such textbooks, the student shall
86	present a valid student identification card from an eligible
87	institution of higher education and documentation that confirms
88	such textbooks are required or recommended for the course in
89	which the student is enrolled. For purposes of this paragraph,
90	the term "eligible institution of higher education" means:
91	1.  A state university or public community college in the
92	state;
93	2.  A baccalaureate-degree granting independent nonprofit
94	college or university that is accredited by the Commission on
95	Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and
96	is located in and chartered as a domestic corporation by the
97	state; or
98	3.  An independent postsecondary educational institution in
99	the state that is licensed by the Commission for Independent
100	Education and is authorized to grant degrees.
101	Section 2.  Section 1004.09, Florida Statutes, is created
102	to read:
103	1004.09  Textbook affordability.--
104	(1)  No employee of a community college or state university
105	may demand or receive any payment, loan, subscription, advance,
106	deposit of money, service, or anything of value, present or
107	promised, as an inducement for requiring students to purchase a
108	specific textbook for coursework or instruction, with the
109	exception that an employee may receive:
110	(a)  Sample copies, instructor copies, or instructional
111	materials, not to be sold.
112	(b)  Royalties or other compensation from sales of
113	textbooks that include the instructor's own writing or work.
114	(2)  No later than 15 days prior to the first day of
115	classes or at the time a course instructor or the academic
116	department offering a course identifies a textbook for order and
117	subsequent student purchase, whichever is earlier, community
118	colleges and state universities shall notify students of the
119	textbooks assigned for each course offered at the institution by
120	listing each assigned textbook on the website of the
121	institution. The notification shall include the International
122	Standard Book Number (ISBN) for each textbook along with other
123	relevant information.
124	(3)  By February 1, 2008, the State Board of Education and
125	the Board of Governors each shall adopt policies, procedures,
126	and guidelines for implementation by community colleges and
127	state universities, respectively, that further efforts to
128	minimize the cost of textbooks for students attending such
129	institutions while maintaining the quality of education and
130	academic freedom. The policies, procedures, and guidelines shall
131	provide for the following:
132	(a)  That textbook adoptions are made with sufficient lead
133	time to bookstores so as to confirm availability of the
134	requested materials and, where possible, ensure maximum
135	availability of used books.
136	(b)  That, in the textbook adoption process, the intent to
137	use all items ordered, particularly each individual item sold as
138	part of a bundle package, is confirmed by the course instructor
139	or the academic department offering the course before the
140	adoption is finalized.
141	(c)  That a course instructor or the academic department
142	offering the course confirms before an adoption is finalized
143	that the selection of a new edition textbook is based on a
144	determination by the academic department offering the course
145	that the new edition differs significantly in a substantive way
146	from earlier versions.
147	(d)  That the establishment of policies shall include
148	provisions for the availability of required textbooks to
149	students otherwise unable to afford the cost.
150	Section 3.  (1)  The Office of Program Policy Analysis and
151	Government Accountability shall conduct a study of the rising
152	costs of college textbooks and textbook purchasing practices of
153	public postsecondary educational institutions in the state. In
154	conducting the study, the Office of Program Planning and Policy
155	Analysis shall:
156	(a)  Conduct a sample survey of students in community
157	colleges and state universities regarding the costs of textbooks
158	each semester.
159	(b)  Review and analyze the textbook purchasing policies of
160	community colleges and state universities to develop and
161	disseminate best practices for textbook purchasing.
162	(c)  Review policies and practices that are being
163	considered or have been implemented by institutions of higher
164	education in this state and other states to reduce the financial
165	burden of textbook costs to students and their families,
166	including, but not limited to, use of used textbooks, rental
167	textbook systems, digital textbook subscriptions, textbook
168	financing programs, faculty education, and standard procedures
169	for institutions and college bookstores.
170	(2)  A final report, including recommendations, shall be
171	submitted to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the
172	House of Representatives by December 1, 2007.
173	Section 4.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2007.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.