Texas House OKs bill to limit minors' access to sexually explicit books in public libraries

Yahoo

10-05-2025

After banning books with sexually explicit content in schools in 2023, Texas Republicans are setting their sights on a new target: municipal public libraries.
The party is hoping to make books that "describe, depict or portray" sexual conduct off-limits to underage library visitors with House Bill 3225, which the Texas House advanced to the Senate with an 82-53 vote Friday.
The bill would require that librarians remove all "sexually explicit" materials from the children's and young adult sections, and mandate that they verify patrons' ages during checkouts of those materials. Three Democratic House members from South Texas voted with Republicans in support of the proposal.
State Rep. Daniel Alders filed the bill to make parents 'feel comfortable allowing their children to freely explore the books' in public libraries, he said in an April 14 hearing in the House State Affairs Committee. The Republican House member from Tyler said he worries about his tween daughters, who are voracious readers, accessing sexually explicit books that are available in the 'young adults' section of his local library.
In a heated floor debate Friday, Democratic members argued the bill could unconstitutionally restrict minors' access to classic books like 'Lord of the Flies,' 'The Bluest Eye' and 'Brave New World.' They also said it would cut off their access to information about sexual health, sexual assault and puberty.
'If there aren't books, teens are going to go to the internet, and the internet is not a good source of information,' state Rep. Erin Zwiener, D-Driftwood, said.
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'Pretending that this doesn't happen or that these kids are not being confronted by this stuff is absolutely asinine,' said state Rep. Ann Johnson, a Houston Democrat and former human trafficking and child sex abuse prosecutor. 'So be honest with them about society and give them access to honest information, which comes out of a public library.'
In response, Republicans said libraries should let parents, rather than kids, choose when their children are ready to read mature books. Alders, with approval from the House, amended the bill Friday to let parents opt their children out from the restrictions. An amendment from Zwiener that would have made the restrictions apply only to minors under 13 years of age failed along party lines.
'A parent helps to guide a child to adulthood, and the parent does that according to their own sense of what is best for that child,' said state Rep. Brent Money, R-Greenville.
Another dispute over the bill centered on the cost and labor the proposal's implementation might require.
HB 3225 would authorize Texas' attorney general to sue cities and counties whose libraries violate the bill's provisions. A library would have to pay up to $10,000 to the state per violation, plus attorney's fees and other costs.
Democratic critics took umbrage at this enforcement mechanism.
'Our libraries are starving," said state Rep. Rafael Anchía, D-Dallas. "How are they going to pay these $10,000 fines when somebody gets grumpy about a book in the library?'
In the House's hearing of the bill April 14, Texans from across the state came to the Capitol to lay out cases for and against the proposal.
Colby Wiltse, national faith director for Christian political advocacy group Citizens Defending Freedom, praised the legislation.
'This bill represents a reasonable balance between protecting our children and preserving the valuable role that libraries play within our communities,' he said.
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In contrast, a mom from Llano, a rural town about 80 miles northwest of Austin, argued the bill didn't take the reality of teen life in Texas into account.
'Irrespective of their reading choices, our Texas teens are having sex,' said Leila Green Little, who advocates against book restrictions. 'They're becoming parents. They're driving. They hold down jobs, they commit to military service. Why should they be barred from exploring and reading 'Slaughterhouse-Five' in a public library?'
Another witness honed in on the bill's exception for religious texts, which safeguards them from content-based restrictions. Sara Stevenson, a former English teacher and school librarian from Austin, argued the bill could ensnare other important books.
'There's a problem with the rating of books for sexual material, and the bill admits this' with that exception, she said. 'If you did an AI search for sexual organs, the Bible could be banned.'
The Senate State Affairs Committee heard Republican state Sen. Bryan Hughes' SB 2101, the companion bill to HB 3225, on April 28. It is pending a vote from the panel, which is composed of 10 Republicans and one Democrat.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas House OKs bill to restrict public library books for minors