
Library book bill debated in Wyoming legislative committee
CHEYENNE — Representatives in the statehouse are debating a measure proponents say will protect children from obscene material in school and public libraries, but opponents say is unnecessary and duplicates established protocol.
For more than an hour Monday, the House Judiciary Committee discussed House Bill 194, 'Obscenity amendments,' which would repeal exemptions in place for public and school librarians from the crime of 'promoting obscenity to minors,' with penalty of a $6,000 fine or one year of imprisonment.
'Parents were never notified'
Bill sponsor Rep. Ann Lucas, R-Cheyenne, said on Monday in committee that Wyoming parents and grandparents have discovered 'books that had what we considered to be inappropriate-level sexual material and content' in school and public libraries in recent years. Parents were not notified that questionable books were available, and districts denied they offered anything inappropriate, Lucas said.
Rep. Ann Lucas, R-Cheyenne (2025)
Rep. Ann Lucas, R-Cheyenne
Lucas continued that her bill delineates what is suitable for minors, but also allows for parent or guardian choice in the matter.
'The intent here is, if your 16-year-old daughter is mature, and you want her to be able to read 'The Handmaid's Tale,' she can, with your knowledge and consent as a parent. But nobody else can make that decision for your child but you,' Lucas said.
However, anyone other than a parent could be charged with the crime of promoting obscenity to a minor if they provide said material to a minor, Lucas said.
Further, she said that the system should be 'opt in,' or such that parents who want access to content like 'The Handmaid's Tale' should have to opt to make it available, rather than requiring parents who don't want their students to have access to 'opt out.'
Laramie County Library System Executive Director Antonia Gaona told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle on Tuesday that she has concerns over the overreach in the bill, and said that as a Christian, a parent and a county librarian, she cannot support HB 194.
Antonia Gaona
Antonia Gaona
'This legislation is unnecessary government overreach, and it creates duplicate bureaucratic tools and processes,' Gaona said.
Local library boards already adhere to reasonable oversight and control, she said. In Laramie County, the library board of directors is appointed by elected county commissioners, and they craft, approve and enforce library policies through a public process that includes public comment.
'Beyond that, as a public library, we follow strict, professional guidelines and ethical standards to determine which materials and offerings are appropriate, based on the audience,' she said.
What about health classes?
During public comment Monday, opponents called the measure a 'book banning bill' that could have far-reaching, unintended consequences on not only what books are available, but on how teachers are allowed to teach.
Proponents said that parents have long relied on school and public libraries as safe spaces for children, but do not know the extent of obscenities in the books on the shelves.
Rep. Ken Chestek, D-Laramie
Rep. Ken Chestek, D-Laramie, speaks during the House Appropriations Committee meeting on Jan. 28 at the state Capitol.
Rep. Ken Chestek, D-Laramie, asked if the intent of the bill was also to eliminate materials used in sex education classes. Lucas responded that it is possible to teach sex ed without 'any measure of lewdness or prurient interest, by sticking with medical/clinical terms.'
Grady Hutcherson with the Wyoming Education Association spoke about the potential unintended consequences HB 194 may have.
'If you are a health educator and have health standards that you're required to teach, this version of this bill currently raises the question of whether or not a health educator could potentially be fined or imprisoned,' Hutcherson said.
Committee Chairman Rep. Art Washut, R-Casper, asked if those courses could be opt-in by parents, but Hutcherson said he was reluctant to say so because state standards require health education.
Rep. Art Washut, R-Casper (2025)
Rep. Art Washut, R-Casper
Rep. Gary Brown, R-Cheyenne, said during public comment that he finds 'it incredible to think that we exempt libraries and librarians from the very laws that citizens on the street would be violating,' further adding that teachers should not be exempt, either.
'A teacher doesn't somehow have a halo over them because they have a teaching degree,' he said.
Rep. Gary Brown, R-Cheyenne (2025)
Rep. Gary Brown, R-Cheyenne
Who should monitor kids in the public library?
Lindsay Travis, president of the Wyoming Library Association, approached the committee urging a no vote on HB 194. Echoing what Gaona said, Travis said librarians take their responsibility for not promoting obscenity very seriously, following locally approved policies over what is allowed in their collections.
However, even with precautions in place, the definition of what is 'obscene' varies from one individual to the next, she said.
'This is why the exemption is in place, to protect librarians and other professionals from frivolous and likely expensive lawsuits,' Travis said.
The bill 'only grows government,' she said, and public library policies state that parents and guardians, not librarians, are responsible for monitoring the reading selections of their own children.
'Likewise, school district policies can allow parents to opt out their children from accessing library materials,' she said.
Rep. Pam Thayer, R-Rawlins, asked if there is an age limit for children to enter a library, and Travis responded that it varies from library to library: Some state that unaccompanied minors must be with a parent, and some do not.
Rep. Pamela Thayer, R-Rawlins (2025)
Rep. Pamela Thayer, R-Rawlins
'You prefer a parent, but how can you ensure, if a minor does come in, that they're not exposed to some of the books of concern?' Thayer said, continuing that she sees HB 194 as a way to address the issue of unaccompanied, unsupervised minors in a library potentially accessing material of which a parent did not approve.
Later in the meeting, Christine Brady, director of the Goshen County Library, said her library is one big room with a very small staff.
'How am I going to restrict access? We have things in different locations, but let's be clear. It is a parent's responsibility to know where their children are. Children don't just wander into libraries. The parents are supposed to know where their kids are,' Brady said.
'Trying to figure out logistically how a small library is going to restrict access is going to be a difficult task,' Brady said. 'I urge you to vote no on this bill.'
Gaona emphasized to the WTE that a public library cannot act in place of a parent. Methods for parental control include different levels of checkout privileges on a juvenile card, as well as restrictions on and links to a parent card.
'Parents can inspect their children's records. They are expected to accompany their children on library visits and to library events,' Gaona said.
But Chelsie Collier, a member of the Campbell County Public Library board in Gillette, spoke in favor of the bill Monday, saying that for decades, parents have seen libraries as a safe place for minors. Those parents have not truly seen what has 'seeped into our walls and pages,' Collier said. A 'loophole' has allowed 'liberal media outlets and publishers to promote sexually explicit material to minors without oversight of parental consent,' she said.
'Parents have no clue what materials their children will have access to,' Collier said. '(They may) stumble upon acts displayed in pictures, drawings and through graphically, erotically painted words.'
Natrona County School Board Trustee Mary Schmidt, speaking as an individual before the committee, said that she, too, supports HB 194.
'I can say that our school libraries do contain many of the graphic novels that contain nudity, language and many other obscene things,' Schmidt said.
In light of recent Wyoming testing scores, which showed 70% of fourth-graders and 71% of eighth-graders were not proficient in reading, Schmidt said HB 194 would encourage school boards to review library resources and encourage policies that would direct school libraries to support the academic studies 'instead of titillating, leisurely reading materials that we currently have.'
Washut said the committee would take up amendments to the bill Wednesday.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
32 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Senator Markey announces plans to file amendment on AI regulation
BOSTON (WWLP) – State Senator Ed Markey (D-Mass.) has announced that he intends to file an amendment on AI regulation. Senator Markey said he plans to file an amendment to the Senate reconciliation bill to block Republicans' attempt to prevent states from regulating AI in the next ten years. Senators in both parties have expressed an interest in regulating artificial intelligence. Car dealership aids relief at Baystate Children's Hospital 'Despite the overwhelming opposition to their plan to block states from regulating artificial intelligence for the next decade, Republicans are refusing to back down on this irresponsible and short-sighted provision,' said Senator Markey. Last Tuesday, the senator delivered remarks on the Senate floor opposing the reconciliation bill passed in the House. He also took part in a virtual roundtable last week with advocates to discuss the ban's impact on communities throughout the United States. 'I plan to file an amendment to strip this dangerous provision from Republicans' 'Big Beautiful Bill,'' Markey said. 'Republicans should be prepared to vote on this outrageous policy and explain to their constituents why they are preventing their state leaders from responding to the harms caused by this new and evolving technology.' WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Yahoo
32 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Schumer says 16 Republicans have ‘discomfort' with green tax credit rollbacks
Democrats are working to convince some 16 of their Republican colleagues to oppose the GOP's policy bill because of its rollbacks to climate-friendly tax credits, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Thursday. 'We have a group … of seven or eight Democrats who are talking to their Republican colleagues … and we're getting some vibes that people realize this bill went too far, and we're hoping they can all go together to John Thune and to Crapo and say, 'Change it. We can't be for it the way it is,'' Schumer told reporters Wednesday, referring to Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and Finance Committee Chair Mike Crapo (R-Idaho). 'We have a list of 16 Republican senators who have shown some discomfort with this, and that's the main group we're focused on,' he added. The version of the 'big, beautiful bill' passed by House Republicans makes major cuts to tax credits for climate-friendly energy sources, making it so that any project that is not already under construction within 60 days of the law's enactment is ineligible for the tax credits. This provision, among others, is expected to bar many projects from eligibility and could ultimately lead to less low-carbon energy development. At least some Republicans have publicly expressed skepticism of a rapid end to the credits, with Sens. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Thom Tillis (N.C.), John Curtis (Utah) and Jerry Moran (Kan.) warning against a full repeal. However, House Republicans who have championed the cuts are pushing for them to stay in their current form, with members of the Freedom Caucus board recently saying it will 'not accept' changes that water down the cuts. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Yahoo
32 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Ohio Senate, House each passed their ideal budget; What's next?
Jun. 11—An Ohio Senate vote this week finalized its two-year state spending plan that would, among many other things, create a flat 2.75% income tax; push funds to higher performing school districts; and use Ohioans' unclaimed funds to partially fund a new Cleveland Browns stadium. The 23-to-10 Senate vote Wednesday and the subsequent 84-to-1 House vote not to concur with the Senate's changes set up a so-called conference committee — a negotiation between hand-picked members of each chamber that caps off nearly every operating budget process. "This is tradition with budgets with limited exceptions," Senate President Rob McColley, R-Napoleon, told this outlet. "It's usually just the standard process of getting together, working out the differences and figuring out where we're going to end up for the final version." Whatever compromise the GOP-dominated House and Senate chambers agree on then has to be sent to Ohio's Republican governor, who wields line-item veto power and can cross out provisions he doesn't like. Most of the negotiation happens behind closed doors and out of public view, but the major points of contention heading into this conference committee are fairly obvious. Highlights from the Senate's now-confirmed plan compared to the House's plan include: — Creating a flat, 2.75% income tax rate for all Ohioans who earn more than $26,050 annually. The proposal eliminates Ohio's highest tax bracket for earners pulling over $100,000 per year, eliminating over a billion dollars in state tax revenue over a two-year period. — Expanding access to Ohio's "homestead exemption" property tax relief program by increasing the income threshold from $40,000 to $42,000 and allowing slightly more of a qualifying participants' home value to be tax exempt. — Granting county budget commissions the authority to reduce property tax millage "if the commission finds it reasonably necessary or prudent to avoid unnecessary, excessive, or unneeded property tax collections." — Eliminating replacement and substitute property tax levies. — Capping a school district's financial reserves at 50% of the prior year's operating expenses, as opposed to the House-proposed 30% carryover cap. General funds in excess of that 50% cap would then be portioned back out to the property taxpayers of that district. — Directing $600 million of the state's $3.7 billion in unclaimed funds to the Cleveland Browns' new stadium project instead of issuing public bonds as the House proposed. — Requiring school boards to obtain a 2/3 vote from members before putting a property tax levy on the ballot. — Adding $633.9 million more to the state's K-12 public schools than the current biennium, phased in largely through new "performance-based" incentives that will reward high-performing and improving districts with more cash. — Establishing a $100 million set-aside to potentially withhold from state universities that do not come under compliance of the newly-passed Senate Bill 1, which eliminates university-sanctioned diversity, equity and inclusion programs on public campuses. Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman, R-Lima, told reporters Wednesday that the Senate's school funding plan and flat tax rate will likely be central points of internal discussion as his caucus prepares for negotiations. "We'll have the next two-plus weeks to deal with it," Huffman said. "Our staff and some of the leadership and other folks are set to spend the weekend reviewing these items, so I think there's already discussions going on among a variety of people in different areas about what we may do." But, Huffman said he overall believes that the House and the Senate aren't too far apart on the big stuff — he likes the idea of a flat tax, he's framed the Senate's idea on using unclaimed funds to help the Browns as clever — but pointed to "a lot of very basic policy differences" within the disparate proposals. When asked about his non-negotiables, McColley said he didn't want to reveal too much. "But we're firm believers in some of the big items. The flat tax is something that we feel pretty strongly about," McColley said. "That would be something we're pretty committed to, hopefully we don't get a lot of push back. But other than that, we'll let the process play out." Asked about his non-negotiables, Huffman told reporters, "I'd like to tell you that there is nothing that's non-negotiable, even if somebody says it's non-negotiable."