2025 · Regular session · House bill
HB5515
HB5515 bars publishers and manufacturers from including freight and shipping charges in instructional-material prices that exceed the actual delivery cost, determined using the carrier's published standard rate for the specified …
Official caption: Relating to restrictions on freight and shipping costs included in the price of instructional materials for public schools.
Official report lists House author(s): Buckley. This does not identify sponsors or amendment drafters.
Bill explanation published · Version and amendment review scope is stated below · Individual amendment records may not be separately annotated.
Bill highlights
Selected points from the published explanation. Follow each point to its source-linked context; conditions and limits may matter.
- HB5515 bars publishers and manufacturers from including freight and shipping charges in instructional-material prices that exceed the actual delivery cost, determined using the carrier's published standard rate for the specified delivery method.
- The existing duties on lowest-price treatment, matching price reductions and free items elsewhere, quality and accuracy, competition, delivery and contract compliance remain; the bill renumbers the later items to insert the shipping rule.
- The governor signed the bill June 20, 2025, and it took effect September 1, 2025.
What does it do?
HB5515 bars publishers and manufacturers from including freight and shipping charges in instructional-material prices that exceed the actual delivery cost, determined using the carrier’s published standard rate for the specified delivery method. It also bars a handling or similar charge that is not directly related to shipping physical copies. This does not require free shipping, prescribe a dollar cap or prohibit every handling charge. Final law, new Education Code 31.151(a)(4).
The existing duties on lowest-price treatment, matching price reductions and free items elsewhere, quality and accuracy, competition, delivery and contract compliance remain; the bill renumbers the later items to insert the shipping rule. It does not newly create those older duties. The surrounding statute already lets the State Board of Education impose a reasonable administrative penalty for a knowing violation of subsection (a), after a hearing and consideration of specified factors. HB5515 does not set a new fixed penalty amount. Final law; Education Code 31.151(b)–(d).
The governor signed the bill June 20, 2025, and it took effect September 1, 2025. The act contains no separate transition schedule. Official history; final law, Section 2.
What changed along the way?
All five indexed versions—introduced, House report, House-passed, Senate report and enrolled—have the same substantive sections. Both the carrier-rate benchmark and the restriction on unrelated handling charges were present from introduction. The amendment index lists no floor amendments, consistent with the history. Introduced; House report; House-passed; Senate report; text index; amendment index.
For the full amendment record, open the official amendment index.
Official bill versions
Compare the published text versions in the official text index. A change is not attributed to a specific amendment here without a verified record.
Who could benefit—and who could bear the costs?
School districts and open-enrollment charter schools may avoid excessive delivery charges or unrelated handling charges embedded in material prices. Publishers and manufacturers must keep those charges within the statutory limits. Savings depend on previous pricing and actual purchases; the bill does not promise a per-student saving or change a particular carrier’s published rate.
The latest indexed fiscal note, May 19 for the engrossed bill, anticipates no fiscal implication for the state or local governments. The April 27 introduced note reaches the same conclusion. Neither gives a dollar estimate, multi-year cost table or quantified private compliance cost. The act makes no appropriation; possible purchasing benefits should not be presented as a budget saving measured by the fiscal note. Applicable fiscal note; introduced note.
Review boundary: the full final text, history, all five versions, the empty amendment index, both fiscal notes and the prior version of 31.151 were read and compared. This is not an audit of a publisher’s invoice, shipping contract or a later enforcement decision.
Official sources
- Bill history and latest recorded action
- Bill versions, analyses and fiscal notes
- Action history and votes
- Amendment index
Catalog report retrieved 2026-10-25. Check the official record for corrections or later changes.
