Idaho Republican wants to allow damage claims for ‘harmful’ materials in libraries

A Nampa lawmaker wants to try again to allow guardians of children to sue for damages if their child is exposed to what Republicans deem “harmful material” in libraries, after an effort to impose a similar law failed last legislative session.

House Bill 384 is a rewrite of a similar bill introduced last year, which Gov. Brad Little vetoed. Lawmakers in the House moved to override the veto, which requires two-thirds support, and failed by one vote.

The bill would amend Idaho’s longstanding obscenity law, which includes a misdemeanor crime for disseminating harmful material to minors. Libraries are exempt from that charge. The bill would let parents seek damages from libraries instead.

“Obscene materials” are defined as nudity, masturbation, “homosexuality” and varied sexual conduct in the state law. If obscene materials appeal to the “prurient interest of minors” and are deemed “patently offensive to prevailing standards,” they could meet the definition of “harmful” materials.

The bill would add a new provision to allow guardians of minors to file “written notice” to the private school, public school or public library with the alleged “materials,” after which the institution would have 30 days to move the items to an adult section.

If the materials were not relocated after 30 days, the parent or minor could file for $250 in “statutory damages,” according to the bill. Libraries could claim as a defense that they thought the minor was over 18, or that the minor was accompanied by their parent or guardian.

Last year’s bill would have allowed for $2,500 in damages and did not include the 30-day notice. The bill still leaves room for parents or minors to file for “actual damages.”

Rep. Jaron Crane, R-Nampa, sponsored both bills, and the House State Affairs Committee introduced the bill to the House on Wednesday. Crane told the committee he had made “corrections” to the bill based on suggestions from Gov. Brad Little after his veto.

“Those are the changes that he requested that we take a look at, and I guarantee that we won’t bankrupt any library here in Idaho,” Crane said. A provision of the bill also notes that local prosecutors and the attorney general’s office could file an injunction against any libraries found in violation.

In a letter to lawmakers last year, Little said he supported the intent of the legislation but was concerned about “ambiguity” in the bill’s language. He wrote that it made “sweeping, blanket assumptions on materials that could be determined as ‘harmful to minors’ in a local library, and it will force one interpretation of that phrase onto all the patrons of the library,” according to previous Idaho Statesman reporting.

Democrat calls bill a response to ‘fabricated crisis’

House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel, D-Boise, called the bill “unworkably vague” and said its definitions “would include Michelangelo’s David or Botticelli’s Birth of Venus” in an emailed statement.

“It still fails to recognize that what is appropriate for a 17-year-old is broader than what is appropriate for a 5-year-old,” she said. “It still restricts teenagers from accessing any book with a gay character, regardless of whether there is any sexual conduct depicted.”

Rubel said the law could “cripple” libraries, since parents could try to “cash in” on the $250 if they don’t like a book at the library.

“This legislation would again force libraries to shut their doors to anyone under 18 years of age,” she said. “Let’s focus on boosting our kids’ literacy rates, not shutting down libraries in response to a fabricated crisis.”

Efforts to restrict access to books and other materials at libraries have swept the country in recent years, many of which explicitly target books or photographs depicting LGBTQ experiences. Many of the parents who organized to remove books from libraries in Idaho have been specifically concerned with preventing children from viewing diverse sexualities, gender expressions or identities, or which promote a gay and lesbian “agenda,” according to previous Statesman reporting.

A group of citizens tried to dissolve the Meridian Library District last year over accusations that librarians had distributed “smut filled pornography” to youth.

The number of books challenged at libraries around the country has ballooned in recent years. Dozens of books have been challenged in Idaho in recent years, including titles by award-winning authors like Toni Morrison, Louise Erdrich and Aldous Huxley.