H.B. 40

1

FUNDING FOR TEXTBOOKS
2 2001 GENERAL SESSION
3 STATE OF UTAH
4 Sponsor: Martin R. Stephens
5 The act modifies provisions related to the State System of Public Education by requiring the
6 State Board of Education to design and implement a statewide plan to provide for an
7 adequate supply of textbooks for students on an ongoing basis and to replace outdated
8 textbooks or textbooks in poor condition. This act provides an appropriation of $23,790,000
9 in one-time monies to purchase new textbooks and has an immediate effective date.
10 This act affects sections of Utah Code Annotated 1953 as follows:
11 ENACTS:
12 53A-12-201.5, Utah Code Annotated 1953
13 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
14 Section 1. Section 53A-12-201.5 is enacted to read:
15 53A-12-201.5. State plan to meet textbook needs -- Monitoring and auditing of
16 textbook programs.
17 (1) (a) The State Board of Education, in consultation with local school boards and local
18 superintendents, shall design and implement a statewide plan to:
19 (i) provide for an adequate supply of textbooks for students in the state's public schools
20 on an ongoing basis; and
21 (ii) replace outdated textbooks or textbooks in poor condition.
22 (b) The board shall review the plan annually and make modifications if necessary to meet
23 the requirements of Subsection (1)(a).
24 (2) The State Board of Education shall:
25 (a) make a rule in accordance with Title 63, Chapter 46a, Utah Administrative Rulemaking
26 Act, that provides uniform guidelines for determining what constitutes:
27 (i) an adequate supply of textbooks; and

28 (ii) an outdated textbook and a textbook in poor condition; and
29 (b) determine if the definition of textbooks under Section 53A-12-202 should be modified
30 for purposes of this chapter and make its recommendation to the Education Interim Committee of
31 the Legislature prior to November 30, 2001.
32 (3) (a) The State Board of Education and the Legislative Auditor General's Office shall
33 jointly monitor and conduct an audit of the funding sources and expenditures for textbooks in the
34 state's public schools.
35 (b) The monitoring and audit shall cover a period of at least three but no more than five
36 years, beginning with the 2000-01 school year.
37 Section 2. Appropriation.
38 (1) For fiscal year 2000-01 only, there is appropriated from the Uniform School Fund
39 $23,790,000 in one-time monies to the State Board of Education.
40 (2) (a) The board shall allocate the appropriation to local school boards for the purchase
41 of textbooks for students on the basis of:
42 (i) need as identified in the Legislative Auditor General's State Textbook Funding Audit
43 dated November 2000; and
44 (ii) effort made by each district to satisfy its textbook needs.
45 (b) Each local school board shall use its allocation to provide adequate numbers of
46 textbooks for students or to replace textbooks in poor or outdated condition or to do both.
47 Section 3. Effective date.
48 If approved by two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, this act takes effect
49 upon approval by the governor, or the day following the constitutional time limit of Utah
50 Constitution Article VII, Section 8, without the governor's signature, or in the case of a veto, the
51 date of veto override.




Legislative Review Note
as of 1-2-01 9:24 AM

A limited legal review of this legislation raises no obvious constitutional or statutory concerns.

Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel

Committee Note

The Education Interim Committee recommended this bill.