Texas lawmakers are considering a parent-backed plan requiring public libraries to keep sexually explicit materials away from kids or face fines and loss of funding.
House Bill 3225 by State Rep. Daniel Alders (R–Tyler) would require municipal public libraries to move sexually explicit content out of areas accessible to minors and verify that only adults check out the materials.
Violations of HB 3225 could result in civil penalties up to $10,000.
Libraries could also lose eligibility to receive taxpayer-funded grants from the Texas State Library and Archives Commission for a year. Past grants have ranged from $5,000 to $75,000.
Public libraries would be required to review their collections annually to verify compliance, following guidelines set by TSLAC.
During a Monday meeting of the House State Affairs Committee, Alders presented a revised version of HB 3225.
The committee substitute defines “sexually explicit material” as any material—including a written description, illustration, photographic image, video image, or audio file—that describes, depicts, or portrays sexual conduct.
“Sexual conduct” is also specifically defined within the substitute.
Alders told the committee the bill would create safe places for minors in taxpayer-funded libraries where parents “feel comfortable allowing their children to freely explore the books without needing to worry that they contain depictions of sexually explicit conduct.”
He noted that the measure includes a “very clear, cut-and-dried” standard; does “not in any way encroach upon the First Amendment,” as books are moved, not removed; and addresses a “very real and current problem” of sexually explicit books found in public libraries—including in his hometown.
“The people of Tyler and the people of Smith County hired me to stop the sexualization of our kids. That’s what this bill does,” said Alders.
“This is not about book banning or book burning. This is about book boundaries,” testified Bonnie Wallace, a Texas parent and advocate for safe libraries. “Minors need boundaries to protect their minds from content they are not mature enough to process.”
As a member of the Llano County Library advisory board, Wallace was sued when harmful content was relocated from the children’s section of the library.
Wallace told the committee she has found many explicit books in the children’s sections of public libraries that “glamorize” a variety of deviant sexual behaviors.
“Everywhere I go, people in charge of books ask for legislation to help them remove harmful content they have discovered in their libraries,” she said. “Questionable content can easily be placed in the adult section to protect children from happening upon it.”
“When we talk about sexually explicit, we’re talking about sexually explicit,” testified Richard Vega with At His Feet Ministries as he held up a copy of the graphic book “Let’s Talk About It” that is accessible to kids in public libraries across the state.
“This has an award,” added Vega. “This is what’s being purchased.”
“Public libraries are not safe for minors,” testified Texas mom and education advocate Deborah Simmons. “This bill provides a common-sense solution to protect children from harmful sexually explicit material, supports the state’s and communities’ compelling interest to protect children, and provides necessary safeguards that the libraries refuse to do voluntarily.”
Several librarians and the American Civil Liberties Union testified against HB 3225, claiming it infringes on children’s right to read whatever they want without age restrictions—the official stance of the American Library Association.
The Republican Party of Texas strongly supports the measure, according to Christin Bentley, who heads the Texas GOP’s legislative priorities subcommittee to Stop Sexualizing Texas Kids.
“After the successful passage of HB 900 last session, which mandated library standards for public schools, HB 3225 extends those protections to ALL public libraries—with serious consequences for noncompliance,” Bentley posted to social media ahead of Monday’s hearing.
More than 50 representatives have signed on as bill authors with Alders.
HB 3225 was left pending in committee.
Six weeks remain in the regular legislative session.
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