Legislative committee endorses prosecution of librarians who lend books deemed harmful to children
South Dakota Rep. Bethany Soye, R-Sioux Falls, testifies to a legislative committee on Jan. 17, 2025, at the Capitol in Pierre. Soye is the sponsor of a bill that would criminalize schools, universities, museums, libraries and their employees for allowing children to view material defined in state law as obscene or harmful to minors. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)
A South Dakota legislative committee advanced a bill Wednesday at the Capitol in Pierre that would subject schools, universities, museums, libraries and their employees to criminal prosecution and jail time for allowing children to view material defined in state law as obscene or harmful to minors.
An opponent of the bill said it would put 'librarians in handcuffs' for lending a book to a child that some adults might consider inappropriate. One member of the House Education Committee who voted in favor of the legislation, Rep. Travis Ismay, R-Newell, suggested an arrest might be insufficient punishment.
'If a librarian rented this out to my son or daughter, you'd be lucky if you got hauled out of there in handcuffs,' Ismay said. 'So, yes, if they're breaking the law anyway, why would we have any problem with librarians getting hauled out of the library in handcuffs?'
Ismay and other committee members who voted for the bill focused some of their comments on the book 'Tricks,' which is marketed as a young adult novel from author Ellen Hopkins about five troubled teenagers who work as prostitutes. Several supporters of the bill criticized the book in their testimony as inappropriate for children and said it's available in many high school libraries in the state. They said parents have had difficulty convincing local school administrators and school boards to remove such books from school library shelves.
... If they're breaking the law anyway, why would we have any problem with librarians getting hauled out of the library in handcuffs?
– South Dakota Rep. Travis Ismay, R-Newell
Opponents of the bill said criminalizing the lending of a book with a class one misdemeanor is an out-of-proportion response to concerns about a book's content. Eric E. Erickson, a lobbyist for the South Dakota Library Association, said that's the same class of punishment applied to hiring a prostitute and committing simple assault, with a maximum penalty of one year in jail and a $2,000 fine.
'Locking up our librarians, our professors, our teachers, our museum curators is not the answer,' Erickson said.
Other bill opponents said some parents may not like the local procedures available to request the removal of a book from a school library, but those procedures are the appropriate venue for complaints. Rep. Mike Stevens, R-Yankton, who voted against the bill, said parents unhappy with the outcome of those procedures already have the ability to file a lawsuit.
Stevens sponsored a bill adopted by the Legislature last year that requires public schools and libraries to publish their policies for restricting minors from accessing obscene materials. He said that requirement, which took effect on Jan. 1 this year, is a better approach to the problem than the bill endorsed Wednesday by the committee.
The sponsor of the new bill, Rep. Bethany Soye, R-Sioux Falls, said last year's bill is ineffective because of the existence of another state law. That law exempts schools, colleges, universities, museums, public libraries and their employees from prosecution for disseminating material harmful to minors and related offenses. Soye's bill would repeal that exemption.
State law defines material harmful to minors as any description or representation of nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement or 'sado-masochistic abuse' if it predominantly appeals to a 'prurient, shameful or morbid interest,' is patently offensive to prevailing standards about suitable material for children, and is without 'serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.'
Soye said the protection for material with 'literary, artistic, political, or scientific value' is sufficient.
'This is not a ban on any books,' she said. 'If, specifically, we're talking about a public library, you can still have the books. Adults, obviously, can read anything they want. We're just saying this is material that's harmful to minors, so you can't check it out to a minor.'
Opponents of the bill said it would infringe on free speech and subject employees of the targeted institutions to prosecution for making subjective decisions.
'Many people will have a fundamental disagreement on what is defined as obscene,' said Sandra Waltman, of the South Dakota Education Association. 'Often it comes down to a difference in values — something that should not be criminalized.'
The committee voted 10-5 to send House Bill 1239 to the full House of Representatives.
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