If the Student Advisory Council has its way, annoying calls from credit card companies will be a thing of the past and textbook costs at the University will drop about 7 percent.

The organization, which makes recommendations to the Board of Regents and the Governor’s office, will have representatives lobby the Georgia General Assembly on student-related issues, including disclosure of students’ personal information, textbook taxes and the Board of Regents’ 2001 budget.

Brian Beers, SAC press secretary, said SAC representatives will be at the Capitol every day of the current session.

One issue the group will advocate is limiting the distribution of students’ personal information to commercial groups.

Currently, businesses like credit card companies can reach students by filing requests under the Open Records Act.

‘Solicitors are filing open records requests so they can get information about students,’ Beers said. ‘Names would be OK, but we don’t want the University system to be handing out phone numbers or addresses. We can’t think of a legitimate use they’d need that information for.’

The group also advocates eliminating sales tax on textbooks.

Mike Runnels, former Student Government Association president pro tempore and SGA Treasurer Heath Moody attended SAC’s June conference on behalf of the University’s SGA.

Runnels said he supports the elimination of textbook taxes as a way of decreasing student costs.

‘Students are charged more than enough in tuition and fees, and the HOPE scholarship only grants $150 for textbooks,’ Runnels said.

‘The more help students can get in defraying some of the costs of their education, the more pleasant their University experience will be.’

SAC External Affairs Chair Nels Peterson said exempting textbooks from sales taxes would save Georgia college students an estimated $1 million to $3 million each year.

Beers said textbooks are already exempt from sales taxes in several states, but it would probably be several years before Georgia students would see a change.

‘We don’t have a sponsor for our bill yet, but hopefully we’ll find someone to introduce it,’ Beers said. ‘It’s likely to take two (general assembly) sessions for fiscal matters like this.’

The group also will advocate the Board of Regent’s budget requests for the fiscal year 2001, a budget Beers said will keep costs low for college students across the state.

‘A lot of legislators would like to cut that budget, which would result in institutions charging higher matriculation and other fees,’ Beers said. ‘We’re obviously opposed to that.’

The SAC, founded in 1968, represents over 200,00 students in Georgia.