Library Censorship Bill Gets a Do Pass

The Library Censorship Bill (SB 2307) received a 6-1 Do Pass recommendation from the Senate Judiciary Committee.

It's giving me flashbacks to the 2023 session when a bill passed (HB 1205) requiring libraries to screen for explicit materials in the children's sections, something they were already doing.

ND Legislators want to go further this session and lock books in cabinets. From SB 2307's sponsor:

Boehm said he introduced the bill to prevent the sexualization of minors, and argued the 2023 bill was not effective.

“The material was merely moved out of the children’s section and is now being shopped in the adult section,” he said.

Boehm suggested most libraries would have less than 50 books potentially deemed explicitly sexual. It’s not clear who would decide what constitutes sexually explicit material.

“A simple cabinet that would hold 200 books would suffice in most circumstances,” he said.

Ask your North Dakota Senator to vote no on SB 2307. The bill needs 24 no votes in the Senate to be defeated.

Find your ND legislators at https://www.ndlegis.gov/legend/constituent/districts/public/find_my_legislator

Follow Right to Read ND for updates: https://www.facebook.com/r2rnd https://www.instagram.com/right.to.read.nd/ https://www.righttoreadnd.org

*The committee amended the bill so the state's attorneys would be in charge of compliance with the proposed law, not the attorney general.

Original bill language here: https://ndlegis.gov/assembly/69-2025/regular/documents/25-0552-04000.pdf

Quotes from the bill sponsor: https://www.newscoopnd.org/librarians-fear-impacts-of-latest-bill-on-explicit-materials/