Many librarians are breathing easier after proposed state legislation failed to make it to the Senate floor for voting.

House Bill 385, sponsored by state Rep. Arnold Mooney (R-Indian Springs), attempted to extend obscenity laws to apply to public libraries, public school libraries and their employees and agents. The bill would have made it a crime for librarians to provide “harmful” materials to minors and provided the definition of “sexual conduct.”

The Alabama House of Representatives passed HB385 on April 25 with a 72-28 vote. The bill then moved to the Senate May 2. It was read for a second time and placed on the calendar, but a vote did not occur before the legislative session ended.

According to the Associated Press, Bill 385:

“Removes the existing exemption for public libraries in the state’s obscenity law. It also expands the definition of prohibited sexual conduct to include any 'sexual or gender-oriented conduct' at K-12 public schools or public libraries that 'expose minors to persons who are dressed in sexually revealing, exaggerated or provocative clothing or costumes or are stripping or engages in lewd or lascivious dancing, presentations, or activities.'"

If the bill had passed, librarians in a public library or public K-12 school could have faced a misdemeanor charge if they failed to remove or stop conduct that violated the state’s obscenity law within seven days of receiving a written complaint from the public.

“As many people, along with national news outlets, reported, this bill could make it possible for librarians to be arrested because someone in the community complains about a book having sexually explicit material inside its pages,” said Randal Wright, president of the Friends of Fairhope Library and member of the Fairhope Library Board of Trustees. “Librarians are trained to make knowledge and ideas available to everyone because we all have freedom to choose what we read. This bill would make it nearly impossible for librarians to fulfill this duty because they would have to worry about imprisonment over a book that offends someone.”

In the bill, public and school libraries were mentioned alongside adult bookstores, adult video stores, adult movie houses and adult-only entertainment. The bill also set definitions for "breast nudity," "genital nudity," "harmful to minors," "obscene" and other terms.

The bill did outline that the criminal provisions would not apply to schools or public libraries unless they failed to remove materials or cease conduct within seven days of receiving a notice. The removal of books has been a hot topic in Alabama as well as other states over the past 12 months, especially in Fairhope in Baldwin County.

State Rep. Donna Givens (R-Loxley) was among the 31 names listed on the bill and the only from the Baldwin County Legislative Delegation. Gulf Coast Media contacted Givens for comment and received this statement:

“HB387 passed in the House last month, however, the Senate failed to bring it to the floor for a vote before the session ended, which renders it a dead bill. We will have to wait until 2024 to see if it is re-introduced by its sponsor, Rep. Mooney.”

When asked if she thinks HB 385 will get resurrected during the next legislative session, Wright said, “Unfortunately yes."

"The Alabama Legislature has been known to make some knee-jerk reactions to a few whispered ideas by some ill-informed constituents with a bee in their bonnets and a political agenda dangling like the proverbial carrot," Wright said. “If this bill were to come up again and pass, I believe our state would lose certified librarians with the training who make our public libraries great, inviting welcoming spaces."

OTHER CONTROVERSIAL BILLS THAT ARE DEAD FOR NOW

Several bills that hit on controversial topics did make it onto the House calendar but did not make it to the floor for voting. While they are dead, they could be resurrected during the next legislative session.

House Bill 111, sponsored by Rep. Susan DuBose (R-Hoover), proposed to amend the Code of Alabama 1975 to define certain sex-based terms and promote policy about sex and gender identity. According to the bill, sex must be reported as male or female at birth for statistics collected by public entities.

The bill did appear on the calendar but did not make it to a vote in the House.

House Bill 130, sponsored by Rep. Mack Butler (R-Rainbow City), set out to prohibit classroom instruction related to gender identity in grades K-8 and sexual orientation in public K-12 schools and prohibit the display of certain flags and insignia in public K-12 schools, such as pride flags.

House Bill 195, sponsored by Rep. Susan DuBose (R-Hoover), was poised to modify the K-12 sex education curriculum. Alabama does not require sexual education to be a part of school curriculums but requires instruction on HIV/AIDS through a health education program. If sex education is offered, the curriculum must emphasize abstinence.

HB195's goal was to require sex education programs to teach sexual risk avoidance and encourage abstinence. According to the bill, sexual risk avoidance “refers to a primary prevention approach to sex education that seeks to achieve the most favorable health outcomes for all Alabama youth by providing information and skills needed to achieve the benefits of avoiding sexual activity.”

To stay up to date on bills and who is voting for or against them, visit www.alison.legislature.state.al.us.