Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill into law Saturday requiring
campus bookstores to provide more pricing information on textbooks,
vetoing a similar proposal that would have placed more requirements on
publishers.
Assembly Bill 1548, the College Textbook Transparency Act, requires
that campus bookstores disclose their retail pricing policy and that
publishers print a list of changes made to new editions on or inside
new books.
In signing the bill and vetoing the other option,
Schwarzenegger said he was hoping to emphasize the shared
responsibility of textbook prices between publishers, bookstores and
faculty.
The vetoed bill, the College Textbook Affordability Act, SB
832, was similar to AB 1548 but also required publishers to provide
faculty with online price lists and an estimation of how long they will
keep editions on the market.
Under the approved bill, faculty can access wholesale prices upon request.
“Many of the same concepts in SB 832 are included in AB 1548,
but AB 1548 recognizes the shared responsibility and attempts to
address the issue in a more comprehensive manner,” Schwarzenegger wrote
in his letter explaining his veto.
Students had largely supported the vetoed bill, but said any
law to attract attention to the problem is a step in the right
direction.
“832 was the stronger of the two bills,” said Courtney Weaver,
a spokesperson for the UC Students Association. “But its still a good
bill. It will shed light on the situation.”
But representatives from CalPIRG said the approved bill blames
bookstores for rising prices and does not adequately address the role
of publishing companies in rising costs.
“It’s a toothless bill that’s not going to do very much,” said
Danielle Ziff, a CalPIRG organizer. “It allows the governor to claim to
be good on textbooks, when in fact he is protecting publishing
companies.”
According to a financial report released by the National
Association of College Stores, 4.4 cents of every dollar’s worth of
textbook sales goes back to the bookstore after expenses. The same
report said publishers receive seven cents of post-tax income from
every dollar of sales.
The approved bill has the support of the Association of American Publishers, among other organizations.
