Committee hears lengthy debate on bill to relocate sexually explicit material in schools and public libraries; no vote

Representative Lawrence Clamine, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, presented Senate Bill 2,307 on behalf of its Senate sponsors, telling the House Appropriations Committee the measure would require school districts and public libraries to adopt policies ensuring “explicit sexual material” is not easily accessible to minors and to relocate any such materials to areas not readily reachable by children. “This bill does not ban any books nor does it require any books to be removed from the library,” Clamine said as he summarized the bill’s text, which incorporates the Miller test for obscenity.

The bill would add public school libraries to the list of places where minors are ‘‘invited as part of the general public’’ and would require each school district and public library to form a committee to reconsider relocations when asked by an individual and to refer disputes to the local state’s attorney. If a state’s attorney determines material is obscene under the Miller standard and a library or school district does not take corrective action, the state’s attorney could notify the state treasurer or the superintendent of public instruction to withhold state funds until compliance, and may prosecute for failure to comply.

Senator Keith Behm, the bill’s Senate sponsor, offered an amendment that removes a disputed Section 6 (which addressed…