A bill passed by the Senate Tuesday could spare college students the mental strain of calculating the tax on their textbooks and even save them some money.
Senate Bill 49 by Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, left the Senate Tuesday with unanimous approval.
Nick Almanza, a spokeman for Zaffirni's office, said the senator's previous attempts to pass similar bills fell victim to legislative gridlock. The Senate Finance Committee passed her bill in the 2005 regular session, but it was never placed on the intent calendar. A second attempt during a special session stalled in committee.
According to the bill, college students would be able to buy books tax-free during two 10-day periods before the start of the fall and spring semesters.
Government sophomore Zack Hall, chair of UT Student Government's tax-free textbook campaign, said he was pleased with the bill's passage but acknowledged obstacles still exist to it becoming law.
"This shows it is a priority for the Senate, and I hope the House will see it the same way," said Hall, director of SG's Legislative Relations Agency. "We're going to Wal-Mart here pretty soon to buy some more Ramen to pass out to House members, so they know what it's like to eat like a college student once again."
The majority of legislation historically passes in the final weeks of the legislative session, which ends May 28.
In addition to advocating legislation to benefit students during the busiest time of the 80th session, Hall faces other demands familiar to all college students.
"It's tough. I've got a final on Thursday, and then I'm going home after a final next Tuesday," Hall said.
College students weren't the only supporters of the bill. Representatives from the Texas Retailers Association testified in support of the bill before the Senate Finance Committee on April 30. Hall said retailers and businesses across the state know students are going to spend their money locally and recycle that money back into the economy.
"The only opposition was from cities that said they would lose revenue, but students are not going to put their [tax] savings into a savings account," Hall said. "Instead it will go to food, entertainment or another textbook, so it's going right back to businesses and local economies."
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