Senate passes bill directing libraries and schools to limit minors' access to explicit material; state's attorney review process draws questions

Senate Bill 2307, which requires public libraries, school districts and some state agencies to develop policies and technology protections to prevent minors’ access to obscene or sexually explicit material, passed the North Dakota Senate 27-20 on Feb. 20, 2025. Senator Paulson carried the bill and presented an amended version that removed a section the committee worried could affect private businesses and added procedures for review and enforcement.

The bill requires local policies for relocating explicit materials to areas “not easily accessible to minors,” creation of a local review committee to consider relocation requests, and a process by which an aggrieved individual can escalate to a county state's attorney. If a state's attorney finds a violation, the public body must take corrective action within 10 days or face withholding of state funds until compliance is verified. The bill also requires school districts and public libraries that provide digital or online database resources to K–12 students to adopt review policies by Jan. 1, 2026, and to submit an annual aggregate report to the Legislative Management by Dec. 1.

Senator Paulson, lead sponsor, said the changes were intended to ensure taxpayer-funded institutions “are not venues for exposing children to harmful content” and emphasized the bill “does not ban books” but focuses on whether explicit material is “easily accessible to minors.” Paulson told the Senate the bill provides local review steps and a final option for escalation to the state's attorney only after local remedies are exhausted: “If this content is inappropriate for adults in public hearings, how can we justify making it available to children?”

Opponents focused on enforcement and process. Senator Brownberger, the lone no vote in committee, argued the bill creates an unusual enforcement path by directing citizens to submit complaints directly to a state's attorney rather than to law enforcement, and he said many state's attorneys do not issue opinions to private citizens. Senator Cleary and others warned Section 7 (the state's-attorney review procedure) turns local disagreements about library collections into legal matters and could invite costly and unnecessary prosecutions. Lawmakers asked whether the threatened penalties would target institutions or individuals; Paulson said those decisions would be for the state's attorney to determine but said the enforcement language was intended to address entities such as state agencies, school districts and public libraries.

Several senators pressed for definition and enforceability of the key phrase “easily accessible to minors.” Paulson said that assessment would largely be made locally by libraries and school districts and compared it to the “reasonable person” standard used elsewhere in statute. During debate Senator Roars and others said they were unsure how to expect consistency across the state without clearer criteria.

The Senate adopted two floor amendments (one removed duplicative subsection text and one corrected a drafting error related to notification language) before taking the final vote. The roll call on final passage showed 27 ayes, 20 nays; the bill passed as amended.

The bill’s requirements for written local policies, a local review committee, technology protection measures for online resources offered to K–12 students, and an annual report to Legislative Management are now part of the enacted language presented on the Senate floor. Proponents said the law preserves materials for adult research while making them less accessible to minors; opponents warned it expands the role of prosecutors in what historically were local administrative and policy matters.

Senate action: final passage, SB 2307 as amended (27–20).