An extra $56 each semester can mean a great deal to any college student on a budget.

It can mean money for gas, food, school supplies, cigarettes or alcohol. A state House bill proposed Jan. 11, could provide just that. House Bill No. 1357 exempts all accredited college’s undergraduate textbooks from the Indiana gross retail tax, essentially saving students or parents 7 percent off their total textbook purchase.

If enacted, effective July 1 students would save $7 per every $100 spent on books, totaling roughly $56 for an average sale of $800. To some students, that money can be the difference between having textbooks or not. Sophomore dietetics major Shannon Whitacre said she could not purchase her books on time last semester.

“They were too expensive,” Whitacre said. “I couldn’t afford them so I had to wait a few weeks.”

A friend of Whitacre’s was in the same situation.

Whitacre said her friend, Leslie, was short about $100 for textbooks last semester and had to wait before she could buy them.

The bill, authored by representative Mara Candeleria-Reardon of Indiana’s Northeastern 12th district, was first conceived at the college level. USI’s own SGA worked with the Indiana University Student Association and the Purdue Student Government to lobby state legislators.

“Contact was made with many different legislators, some locally and some in their offices at the statehouse,” SGA President Jordan Whitledge said. “The process started over the summer with it picking up steam around October.”

The bill will help to keep student costs low.

Whitledge said students who spend $800-$900 on books face hefty taxes but will hold onto their money with the help of this bill.

“It shows how SGA is continually working to better student life at USI,” Whitledge said. “This bill will benefit them as students.”

Some students will not see much benefit from the bill. Because she is on scholarships, sophomore literature major Heather Dickerson does not struggle to pay for textbooks. She said her roommate does.

“She’ll change classes at the last minute, and then she’ll have to buy books here, which is more expensive than going on Ebay or Amazon,” Dickerson said. “So I think it’s a good idea.”

The money, whether it is $10 or $50, greatly assists any college student. Senior health services major Lana Watkins said she would utilize the savings to pay off her loans.

“I would pay back my mom,” Watkins said. “She’s basically my school loan.”

The bill, first read on Jan. 11, 2012, has been referred to the House committee of Ways and Means awaiting reports.

SGA will continue to advocate on behalf of the student body for the benefits of this bill.

“We will continue to work with legislators to make sure this bill passes,” Whitledge said.