Bill targeting library content passes North Dakota Senate
Sen. Keith Boehm, R-Mandan, speaks on the Senate floor about the removal of explicit content from public and school libraries on Feb. 20, 2025. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)
A bill requiring the removal of obscene or sexually explicit content from public and school libraries passed the Senate Thursday on a 27-20 vote.
Senate Bill 2307, sponsored by Sen. Keith Boehm, R-Mandan, would require public and school libraries to remove explicit content from main areas of the library to areas 'not easily accessible' to minors.
'North Dakota has an opportunity to become a leader in child protection,' Boehm said. 'Ensuring our schools and libraries are places of education, not exploitation.'
In 2023, lawmakers passed a bill that required the removal of sexually explicit content from the children's sections of public libraries and required those libraries to have content challenge policies in place. Boehm's bill expands that law to include school libraries and other public areas of the public library.
Lawmaker again targets content in North Dakota libraries
He stressed that his bill doesn't ban books, but relocates them away from minors. Opponents have called the bill censorship and a violation of the First Amendment.
Boehm suggested explicit content could be moved to a cabinet with proper signs or a roped off section for adults only.
The bill would also require a review process at libraries for the removal of content.
If a person is dissatisfied with the outcome of that review, the bill provides an avenue to petition the local state's attorney to investigate.
A library would have 10 days to comply if a violation is found. State funding could be withheld from a library found in violation. A state's attorney may also prosecute for failure to comply with the law, the bill states.
The bill stipulates the State Library and higher education libraries are exempt.
Sen. Kristin Roers, R-Fargo, questioned the lack of definition for areas 'not easily accessible' and said it reminded her of old video rental locations.
'There were beaded curtains that sectioned off the part that I wasn't supposed to go to,' Roers said. 'I keep imagining that our libraries are going to have to put up whatever today's version of beaded curtains are, so I struggle with this bill.'
Sen. Sean Cleary, R-Bismarck, said if he had an issue with a book in a library, he'd work with the library, the city commission or school board to resolve the issue, not a state's attorney.
'State's attorneys prosecute crimes. They don't manage book collections,' Cleary said. 'Dragging them into this wastes resources, turns library disputes into legal battles and invites government overreach into what should be local decisions.'
Sen. Ryan Braunberger, D-Fargo, said he opposes the bill because it sets a precedent of North Dakotans taking their grievances directly to the state's attorneys for investigation, bypassing law enforcement.
'This bill would actually give individuals access to the state's attorney that's not currently done today,' Braunberger said.
Boehm referred to libraries having content that is pornography.
'To fight this battle against the pornographers, pedophiles and groomers, we must cover this issue comprehensively,' Boehm said. 'Not every library in the state has this material, but there is enough to support this legislation.'
Cleary pushed back on that assertion.
'We should trust parents, school boards and city commissions to make the best decisions for their communities,' Cleary said. 'And for the record, librarians, teachers, they're not pedophiles. They're not pornographers. And they are not groomers.'
Boehm sponsored a similar bill during the 2023 legislative session. It was approved by lawmakers but vetoed by then-Gov. Doug Burgum, who said in a veto message the bill would create an enormous burden for every library in the state with a threat of criminal prosecution for noncompliance.
Opponents of the bill have said libraries already have review processes in place if the public objects to content.
The State Library conducted a survey related to requests for reconsidering materials in a library collection. Of 97 North Dakota libraries that responded, 86 have not received a single request to reconsider an item in the collection over the past three years, State Librarian Mary Soucie wrote in neutral testimony she submitted.
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