Committee Recommends ‘Do Not Pass’ on North Dakota Library Content Bill

(Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)

(By: Michael Achterling. North Dakota Monitor) – The North Dakota House Appropriations Committee voted 22-1 to issue a do-not-pass recommendation on a bill that would require school and public libraries to relocate books deemed “sexually explicit” to areas not easily accessible by minors.

The committee also rejected an amendment from the bill’s chief sponsor, Sen. Keith Boehm, R-Mandan, to exempt an online library database from the bill. Adding an age verification system to the online database was estimated to cost about $2 million over four years, adding a price tag to the legislation.

During discussion of the bill, Rep. Karla Rose Hanson, D-Fargo, said the amendment would create a glaring “loophole” that would allow minors to access the perceived explicit content even if other books were physically relocated.

Rep. Brandy Pyle, R-Casselton, said the amendment would have been a “massive policy change” from the original version of the bill. She added the Appropriations Committee didn’t hold a full hearing on the possible changes with members of the public and other concerned stakeholders.