Veto stands on ND book ban bill

The North Dakota House failed to override Gov. Burgum’s veto of a book ban bill that carried potential criminal penalties for librarians.

The bill – SB 2360 – required librarians to review their collections for “explicit sexual material.” The Senate had earlier voted to override the veto.

Democratic Representative Alisa Mitskog said children aren’t getting pornography from libraries – they’re getting it on line.

Burgum said the bill he vetoed would have created “an enormous burden” on hundreds of public libraries by imposing — under the threat of criminal prosecution — an expensive requirement that libraries review materials that have already been screened for age appropriateness. His statement said it would cost the state $300,000 initially to conduct such screening and $150,000 per year thereafter.

The vote was 53 to 41 to override the veto. It needed 63 votes.

AP/NDPPR/KNOX