State bills attempt to curb rising textbook prices
"One of my goals is to educate faculty on new editions, provide them with more options and more used options," LaFleur said.
The second provision of the Textbook Fairness Act would prohibit employees of public colleges from receiving benefits from publishers for assigning their books. However, there are few documented instances of this occurrence.
"I've only heard of this peripherally. I don't know how pervasive a problem this is," Neumann said.
Hershman echoed this: "There are not many cases of faculty ethics problems like the ones described in this bill. I have heard of publishers flying faculty to book seminars."
Klausmeier admitted the provision is mostly preventative.
Neumann and Hershman agreed both bills are well-intentioned but have flaws.
It is likely the Textbook Fairness Act will be absorbed into a more comprehensive bill, like the College Textbook Competition and Affordability.
"Del. Rice and Del. Holmes have been talking," Grudger said.
Klausmeier explained the General Assembly will be taking other methods into consideration when finalizing a bill.
"My bill will be a small part of a larger bill," she said. "Everything is being looked at. We will add things to these bills. We are bringing in people to testify on these issues."
Nothing prevents the General Assembly from creating legislation that would control private universities and publishers, according to Klausmeier.
"There are lots of ways to the same end, that end being saving students money on their textbooks," she said. "We were hoping to raise awareness. The issue of textbooks has finally caught on."
"There's no silver bullet when it comes to lowering textbook prices," Neumann said.
This legislation was inspired by a 2005 study by the Government Accountability Office, which stated that between December 1986 and December 2004, textbook prices nationwide rose at twice the rate of inflation.
The second provision of the Textbook Fairness Act would prohibit employees of public colleges from receiving benefits from publishers for assigning their books. However, there are few documented instances of this occurrence.
"I've only heard of this peripherally. I don't know how pervasive a problem this is," Neumann said.
Hershman echoed this: "There are not many cases of faculty ethics problems like the ones described in this bill. I have heard of publishers flying faculty to book seminars."
Klausmeier admitted the provision is mostly preventative.
Neumann and Hershman agreed both bills are well-intentioned but have flaws.
It is likely the Textbook Fairness Act will be absorbed into a more comprehensive bill, like the College Textbook Competition and Affordability.
"Del. Rice and Del. Holmes have been talking," Grudger said.
Klausmeier explained the General Assembly will be taking other methods into consideration when finalizing a bill.
"My bill will be a small part of a larger bill," she said. "Everything is being looked at. We will add things to these bills. We are bringing in people to testify on these issues."
Nothing prevents the General Assembly from creating legislation that would control private universities and publishers, according to Klausmeier.
"There are lots of ways to the same end, that end being saving students money on their textbooks," she said. "We were hoping to raise awareness. The issue of textbooks has finally caught on."
"There's no silver bullet when it comes to lowering textbook prices," Neumann said.
This legislation was inspired by a 2005 study by the Government Accountability Office, which stated that between December 1986 and December 2004, textbook prices nationwide rose at twice the rate of inflation.
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Vegetarian
posted 2/09/08 @ 10:19 PM EST
The cost of textbooks has become a huge burden on students due to the greed of the publishers. Exempting it from sales tax is a good start. I hope they take the time to design a comprhensive bill that will help this situation. (Continued…)
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