(C) South Dakota Searchlight
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Attempt to revive 'locking up librarians' bill fails; version with appeal process goes to governor • South Dakota Searchlight [1]
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Date: 2025-03
PIERRE — The South Dakota House of Representatives voted 36-34 Tuesday at the Capitol to accept Senate amendments to a controversial bill originally intended to hold librarians criminally accountable for knowingly providing obscene materials to minors.
The amended version of the bill removes the criminal penalty and instead requires an appeals process for challenging materials in school and public libraries.
The Senate wholly replaced the language in the measure on Monday, stripping provisions that would have repealed a legal exemption protecting librarians from prosecution for distributing content deemed “harmful to minors.” Instead, the revised bill allows people to challenge librarians’ decisions about what material should be available to children, first through the school board or a public library’s governing body, and ultimately through the courts.
House supporters of the original bill asked fellow representatives to vote against the Senate’s changes, which would have sent the bill to a conference committee of members from both chambers for further deliberation.
“This bill does absolutely nothing,” said Rep. Bethany Soye, R-Sioux Falls. She introduced the original version of the bill.
Opponents of the original bill said criminalizing librarians is not a measured approach to alleviate concerns about inappropriate books.
“Everybody says we want to get these books out of schools,” said Rep. Drew Peterson, R-Salem. “Locking up librarians if they accidentally give a book to a minor isn’t going to do it, but this bill will do it.”
The bill now heads to Gov. Larry Rhoden for final consideration.
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[1] Url:
https://southdakotasearchlight.com/briefs/attempt-to-revive-locking-up-librarians-bill-fails-version-with-appeal-process-goes-to-governor/
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