Textbook Update

During my hiatus last week, a number of advancements have occurred in the realm of textbooks.  After a worthwhile hearing in the House on February 17, Delegate Rice committed to proposing significant amendments to the House version of the bill (HB 85 ) which will be submitted soon.  At the same time, the Senate Bill (SB 183) was scheduled for a Senate floor vote on Friday February 20.  Senator Middleton raised significant concerns on the floor, and first laid over the bill to Tuesday February 24.  On the floor, a number of amendments were proposed.  An amendment to change the publication timeline of textbook selections to once the order is "finalized" failed 22-24.  An amendment by Senator Astle to change "affirm and acknowledge" to "acknowledge" in section D passed 25-22.

So, the bill has passed in the Senate 45-0 in its current form.  The Senate now waits for the House to finalize the cross-filed bill.  If there are any differences in the two bills, a conference Committee will be formed.  This appears to be likely with the House adopting amendments supported by the USM Students panel, the USM, Community Colleges, Independent Colleges, MHEC, and Bookstores.

One major compromise that will likely be included is extending the publication of the textbook selection in Section G from the earlier of 1 week or the final selection to 30 days after the original selection.  The student panel testified that publication 1 week after the original selection would require bookstores to publish unfinalized information and then students could purchase wrong books.  The compromise extends this timeline to 30 days.  Do recall, at all USM schools, all selections must be posted for the Fall semester by May 1 and for the Spring semester by December 1.

This compromise, and the inclusion of Senator Astle's amendment, adequately address the main concerns that I have outlined.  I have pulled the letter from the CapWiz program at UMBC and will be working with student leaders to develop a consensus on the issue.  The Senate bill still raises issues, but the House amendments, expected from Delegate Rice, will be satisfactory and in the end, actually help students.