On average, college students spend up to $650 a year on textbooks.
In order to ease the burden, California colleges have joinedforces to support a bill that, if passed, would exempt students frompaying sales tax on college textbooks.
AssemblywomanDenise Ducheny, D-San Diego, is authoring the bill designatedAssembly Bill 490.
“She’s authoring this bill because it will give much neededrelease for college students,” said Kevin McCarty, spokesman forDucheny. “It will lessen the financial burden of students.”
Toby Sexton, president of Associated Students at California StateUniversity, Long Beach said: “This will benefit every college inCalifornia. Usually the UCs and CSUs are competing for the samemoney. Here we are working together.”
Any published materials that are required or recommended for acourse would be exempted. Students would have to present a validstudent identification card issued by their school in order toreceive the tax exemption.
“Our goal is to make it more affordable for kids to go to school,”said Chris Swanson, A.S. administrative aide for external affairs atCSULB.
This bill would apply to both campus bookstores and privatebookstores off campus.
“To have as little conflict in getting this approved, weincorporated all entities,” Sexton said.
The bill is scheduled to be heard by the Revenue and TaxationCommittee in late January 2000. If passed it will continue on to theHigher Education and Budget Committees.
“By the time it’s heard by the first committee, we hope to havesupport by every student association,” McCarty said.
Once approved by the committee, the bill will be presented to theAssembly. If the Assembly approves the bill, it will be sent to theSenate and the process starts again. If it passes the Senate, it goesto the governor who has the discretion to approve or veto the bill.
The idea for this bill began last year while Sexton was in Texasat a conference. He learned that schools in New York, Pennsylvania,New Jersey, Arizona and Missouri don’t charge sales tax on collegetextbooks.
“It’s hard to stipulate, but if it reaches the governor by nextNovember, the best-case scenario is that we could see this billstarted in 2001,” Sexton said. “I can’t guarantee that this bill willgo through, but something will go through to benefit the students.”
