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Public libraries warn proposed removal of criminal-exemption could chill collections and affect dual-enrollment students
Summary
Witnesses from regional, public and academic libraries urged the Judiciary Committee to reject Senate Bill 74 or substantially narrow it, saying removal of a decades-old library exemption would expose staff to criminal liability and curtail access for students and underserved patrons.
Senator Burns presented Senate Bill 74, which would change an existing statutory exemption that currently limits criminal liability for librarians who make collection decisions. The sponsor described the substitute as a targeted approach that specifies when the exemption would not apply.
Librarians, trustees, library associations and First Amendment advocates urged the committee to reject the bill or narrow it further. Steven Hauser of the West Georgia Regional Library System told members that the substitute could…
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