2008 Woodie Awards
Student legislation faces some hurdles
Nathan Cohen
Issue date: 3/28/07 Section: News
ANNAPOLIS - As this session of the Maryland General Assembly begins to wind down, legislators are rushing to move proposed legislation to the floor for a vote before the session adjourns on April 9.
A number of university-related bills are moving through both houses of the General Assembly, including five addressing textbooks and others addressing issues such as student housing development and rising tuition costs. The status of each bill is listed below.
Locking down tuition cost
A bill locking down the in-state cost of tuition for undergraduate students has passed both the House and the Senate, meaning that both bills could reach the governor's office for signature by the end of this session.
The bill not only prevents University System of Maryland schools from raising tuition for one year, but it also guarantees the state will cover the revenue loss off the universities. According to the state's non-partisan legislative services department, which evaluates all bills and their costs to the state, that loss will be $16.2 million.
Making textbook information public
Critics have said public universities throughout the state - including this university - publish too little information about what books students need for classes, and that the universities don't publish the information early enough. As a result, students are forced to buy the books from privately run bookstores that charge premium prices, rather than using book information to seek the books online for cheaper prices.
So far, the most successful effort this session to curb textbooks costs is a bill that would create a committee to study how best to cut textbook prices. That bill, introduced in the House by Del. Craig Rice (D-Montgomery), unanimously passed the House last week, and it was introduced in the Senate immediately afterwards.
The bill is a watered-down version of its original form, however. It was originally slated to cut taxes for students or parents who buy textbooks, but because of criticism of what was perceived as an enormous cost to the state, the bill was amended to only study the issue, rather than to enact any real change.
A number of university-related bills are moving through both houses of the General Assembly, including five addressing textbooks and others addressing issues such as student housing development and rising tuition costs. The status of each bill is listed below.
Locking down tuition cost
A bill locking down the in-state cost of tuition for undergraduate students has passed both the House and the Senate, meaning that both bills could reach the governor's office for signature by the end of this session.
The bill not only prevents University System of Maryland schools from raising tuition for one year, but it also guarantees the state will cover the revenue loss off the universities. According to the state's non-partisan legislative services department, which evaluates all bills and their costs to the state, that loss will be $16.2 million.
Making textbook information public
Critics have said public universities throughout the state - including this university - publish too little information about what books students need for classes, and that the universities don't publish the information early enough. As a result, students are forced to buy the books from privately run bookstores that charge premium prices, rather than using book information to seek the books online for cheaper prices.
So far, the most successful effort this session to curb textbooks costs is a bill that would create a committee to study how best to cut textbook prices. That bill, introduced in the House by Del. Craig Rice (D-Montgomery), unanimously passed the House last week, and it was introduced in the Senate immediately afterwards.
The bill is a watered-down version of its original form, however. It was originally slated to cut taxes for students or parents who buy textbooks, but because of criticism of what was perceived as an enormous cost to the state, the bill was amended to only study the issue, rather than to enact any real change.
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Joe
posted 3/28/07 @ 10:31 AM EST
In reference to the section on "locking down tuition cost," the wording of the first sentence is sort of misleading. It makes it sound like both the House and Senate versions of the bill have passed both houses, which is not the case. (Continued…)
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