Bill > HF2499

This bill mandates that bookstores operating within state colleges and universities must implement a price-matching policy for new textbooks, meaning they will match a lower price offered by a competing retailer, defined as any online or physical store selling textbooks to students, excluding individual resellers. Additionally, the University of Minnesota is requested to adopt a similar price-matching policy for bookstores within its facilities. The bill also establishes a performance goal for both the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, requiring them to reduce the average cost of textbooks and related course materials for students by at least five percent annually, from fiscal year 2018 through fiscal year 2021. Failure to meet this goal will result in one percent of their state appropriations being withheld, with those funds redirected to the state grant program. To achieve this, the institutions must develop agreements with state commissioners outlining strategies like buy-back programs, increased availability of used books, use of open-source materials, and encouraging faculty to select lower-cost options, and must report their progress annually.