HB5515 - Relating to restrictions on freight and shipping costs included in the price of instructional materials for public schools.

      H.B. No. 5515         AN ACT   relating to restrictions on freight and shipping costs included in   the price of instructional materials for public schools.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Section 31.151(a), Education Code, is amended to   read as follows:          (a)  A publisher or manufacturer of instructional materials:                (1)  shall furnish any instructional material the   publisher or manufacturer offers in this state at a price that does   not exceed the lowest price at which the publisher offers that   instructional material for adoption or sale to any state, public   school, or school district in the United States;                (2)  shall automatically reduce the price of   instructional material sold for use in a school district or   open-enrollment charter school to the extent that the price is   reduced elsewhere in the United States;                (3)  shall provide any instructional material or   ancillary item free of charge in this state to the same extent that   the publisher or manufacturer provides the instructional material   or ancillary item free of charge to any state, public school, or   school district in the United States;                 (4)     may not include in the price of instructional   material a freight and shipping cost that:                       (A)     exceeds the actual cost of delivering the   instructional material, as determined based on the standard rate   published by the carrier for the specified delivery method of the   instructional material; or                       (B)     includes a handling or similar charge that is   not directly related to the shipment of physical copies of the   instructional material;                 (5)  [ (4) ]  shall guarantee that each copy of   instructional material sold in this state is at least equal in   quality to copies of that instructional material sold elsewhere in   the United States and is free from factual error;                 (6)  [ (5) ]  may not become associated or connected with,   directly or indirectly, any combination in restraint of trade in   instructional materials or enter into any understanding or   combination to control prices or restrict competition in the sale   of instructional materials for use in this state;                 (7)  [ (6) ]  shall  deliver instructional materials to a   school district or open-enrollment charter school;                 (8)  [ (7) ]  shall, at the time an order for   instructional materials is acknowledged, provide to school   districts or open-enrollment charter schools an accurate shipping   date for instructional materials that are back-ordered;                 (9)  [ (8) ]  shall guarantee delivery of instructional   materials at least 10 business days before the opening day of school   of the year for which the instructional materials are ordered if the   instructional materials are ordered by a date specified in the   sales contract;                 (10)  [ (9) ]  shall submit to the State Board of   Education an affidavit certifying any instructional material the   publisher or manufacturer offers in this state to be free of factual   errors at the time the publisher executes the contract required by   Section 31.026; and                 (11)  [ (10) ]  shall comply with all other standard terms   and conditions adopted by the State Board of Education for use in   contracts for the procurement of instructional materials under   Subsection (a-1).          SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.       ______________________________ ______________________________      President of the Senate Speaker of the House                   I certify that H.B. No. 5515 was passed by the House on May   15, 2025, by the following vote:  Yeas 140, Nays 1, 3 present, not   voting.     ______________________________   Chief Clerk of the House                 I certify that H.B. No. 5515 was passed by the Senate on May   23, 2025, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays 0.     ______________________________   Secretary of the Senate       APPROVED:  _____________________                      Date                           _____________________                    Governor