Text of AR HB 1028 (2025)

Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law. *JLL006* 11/20/2024 7:42:48 AM JLL006 State of Arkansas 1 95th General Assembly A Bill 2 Regular Session, 2025 HOUSE BILL 1028 3 4 By: Representative A. Collins 5 6 7 For An Act To Be Entitled 8 AN ACT TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING LIBRARIES; TO 9 AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING MATERIALS MADE AVAILABLE BY 10 LIBRARIES; TO REPEAL PROVISIONS OF THE LAW CONCERNING 11 THE PROCESS FOR CHALLENGING MATERIALS INCLUDED IN A 12 LIBRARY; TO REPEAL THE OFFENSE OF FURNISHING A 13 HARMFUL ITEM TO A MINOR; TO AMEND PROVISIONS IN THE 14 CRIMINAL CODE CONCERNING OBSCENITY; TO REQUIRE A 15 LIBRARY TO HAVE A WRITTEN POLICY PROHIBITING BOOK 16 BANNING IN ORDER TO RECEIVE STATE FUNDING; TO AMEND 17 THE LAW CONCERNING THE INFORMATION THAT A LIBRARY MAY 18 DISCLOSE; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. 19 20 21 Subtitle 22 TO AMEND PROVISIONS OF THE LAW 23 CONCERNING OBSCENITY AND THE PROCESS FOR 24 CHALLENGING MATERIALS INCLUDED IN A 25 LIBRARY; AND TO REQUIRE A LIBRARY TO 26 HAVE A POLICY PROHIBITING BOOK BANNING 27 IN ORDER TO RECEIVE STATE FUNDING. 28 29 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 30 31 SECTION 1. Arkansas Code § 5-27-212 is repealed. 32 5-27-212. Furnishing a harmful item to a minor. 33 (a) As used in this section: 34 (1) “Harmful to minors” means the same as defined in § 5-68-501; 35 (2) “Internet” means the combination of computer facilities and 36 HB1028 2 11/20/2024 7:42:48 AM electromagnetic transmission media, and related equipment and software, 1 comprising the interconnected worldwide network of computer networks that 2 employ the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) or any 3 successor protocol to transmit information; 4 (3) “Internet website” means a location where material placed in 5 a computer server-based file archive is publicly accessible over the internet 6 using hypertext transfer protocol or any successor protocol; and 7 (4)(A) “Item” means a material or performance that depicts or 8 describes nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, or sadomasochistic 9 abuse, as those terms are defined in § 5-68-501. 10 (B) “Item” includes without limitation: 11 (i) A book, leaflet, pamphlet, magazine, booklet, 12 picture, drawing, photograph, film, negative, slide, motion picture, figure, 13 object, article, novelty device, recording, transcription, live or recorded 14 telephone message, or other similar item whether tangible or intangible; 15 (ii) A performance, exhibition, transmission, or 16 dissemination of any of the items listed in subdivision (a)(4)(B)(i) of this 17 section; and 18 (iii) A live performance or exhibition that depicts 19 nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, or sadomasochistic abuse, as those 20 terms are defined in § 5-68-501, to the public or an audience of one (1) or 21 more persons. 22 (b) A person commits furnishing a harmful item to a minor if, knowing 23 the character of the item involved, the person knowingly: 24 (1) Furnishes, presents, provides, makes available, gives, 25 lends, shows, advertises, or distributes to a minor an item that is harmful 26 to minors; or 27 (2) Transmits or sends to a person that he or she believes to be 28 a minor by means of electronic mail, personal messaging, or any other direct 29 internet communication an item that is harmful to minors when the person 30 knows or believes at the time of the transmission that a minor in this state 31 will receive the item. 32 (c)(1) Subdivision (b)(1) of this section does not apply to the 33 transmission or sending of items over the internet. 34 (2) Subdivision (b)(2) of this section does not apply to: 35 (A) Posting material on an internet website, bulletin 36 HB1028 3 11/20/2024 7:42:48 AM board, or newsgroup; or 1 (B) Sending material via a mailing list, listserv, or 2 other method of internet communication in which a message is sent to an 3 internet address and then retransmitted to one (1) or more subscribers, that 4 is not administered by the sender. 5 (d) Furnishing a harmful item to a minor is a Class A misdemeanor. 6 7 SECTION 2. Arkansas Code § 5-68-308(c), concerning defenses to state 8 standards that define and regulate obscenity, is amended to read as follows: 9 (c) No employee, director, or trustee of a bona fide school, museum, 10 or public library, acting within the scope of his or her regular employment, 11 is liable to prosecution for a violation of this subchapter for disseminating 12 a writing, film, slide, drawing, or other visual reproduction that is claimed 13 to be obscene. 14 15 SECTION 3. Arkansas Code § 5-68-405(a), concerning the possession, 16 sale, or distribution of obscenity, is amended to read as follows: 17 (a) A person that knowingly sends or causes to be sent or brings or 18 causes to be brought into this state for sale or commercial distribution, or 19 in this state prepares, publishes, sells, exhibits, loans at a library, or 20 commercially distributes, or gives away or offers to give away or has in the 21 person's possession with the purpose to sell or commercially distribute or to 22 exhibit or to give away, obscene printed or written matter or material other 23 than mailable matter, or any mailable matter known by the person to have been 24 judicially found to be obscene under this subchapter, or that knowingly 25 informs another of when, where, how, or from whom or by what means any of 26 these things can be purchased or obtained, upon conviction is guilty of a 27 Class D felony. 28 29 SECTION 4. Arkansas Code § 6-25-105 is amended to read as follows: 30 6-25-105. Establishment of guidelines for selection, relocation 31 removal, and retention of materials. 32 (a) Media centers shall have written policies to establish guidelines 33 for the selection, relocation removal, and retention of physical materials 34 that are available to the public. 35 (b) The school district shall have a written policy for addressing 36 HB1028 4 11/20/2024 7:42:48 AM challenged material that is physically present in the library and available 1 to the public and meets the requirements stated in subsection (c) of this 2 section. 3 (c) A written policy adopted by a school district under subsection (b) 4 of this section shall provide, at a minimum, the following: 5 (1) A parent or guardian of a student affected by the material 6 to be challenged or an employee of the school district may challenge the 7 appropriateness of material available in the school district's media center; 8 (2) The school district shall decide if material being 9 challenged shall remain available throughout the challenge process; 10 (3) Before a person can file a challenge, the person shall 11 request a conference through the principal's office with a licensed media 12 center employee; 13 (4) Before a conference under subdivision (c)(3) of this section 14 occurs, the school district shall provide a copy of the following to a person 15 who requests a conference under subdivision (c)(3) of this section: 16 (A) The written policy adopted by a school district under 17 subsection (b) of this section; and 18 (B) A form or other method by which a person may request a 19 reconsideration of the appropriateness of the material being challenged; 20 (5) After the conference requested under subdivision (c)(3) of 21 this section occurs, if the person who requested the conference wants to 22 formally challenge the appropriateness of the material that was the subject 23 of the conference, the person shall complete and submit the request for 24 reconsideration using the form or other method provided under subdivision 25 (c)(4)(B) of this section to challenge the material that was the subject of 26 the conference; 27 (6)(A) In conducting a review of material being challenged, the 28 principal of the school district shall select a committee of licensed 29 personnel. 30 (B) The principal or his or her designee shall be a member 31 of the committee and may serve as the chair of the committee established 32 under subdivision (c)(6)(A) of this section. 33 (C) At least one (1) member of the committee established 34 under subdivision (c)(6)(A) of this section shall be a media specialist. 35 (D) The committee members who are not the principal or a 36 HB1028 5 11/20/2024 7:42:48 AM media specialist shall be licensed personnel with curriculum knowledge 1 appropriate for the material being challenged and be representative of 2 diverse viewpoints; 3 (7)(A) The committee established under subdivision (c)(6)(A) of 4 this section shall determine if the material being challenged meets the 5 criteria of selection. 6 (B) Material being challenged: 7 (i) Shall not be withdrawn solely for the viewpoints 8 expressed within the material; and 9 (ii) Shall be reviewed in its entirety and shall not 10 have selected portions taken out of context; 11 (8) The school district shall convene a meeting of the committee 12 established under subdivision (c)(6)(A) of this section after allowing a 13 reasonable time for the committee members to adequately review the material 14 being challenged and the request submitted under subdivision (c)(5) of this 15 section by the person challenging the appropriateness of the material; 16 (9) The committee established under subdivision (c)(6)(A) of 17 this section shall allow the person who submitted the request under 18 subdivision (c)(5) of this section to present his or her request to the 19 committee; 20 (10) After hearing from the person who submitted the request 21 under subdivision (c)(5) of this section, the committee established under 22 subdivision (c)(6)(A) of this section shall meet to discuss the material 23 being challenged; 24 (11)(A) The committee established under subdivision (c)(6)(A) of 25 this section shall vote to determine whether the material being challenged 26 shall be relocated within the media center's collection to an area that is 27 not accessible to minors under eighteen (18) years of age. 28 (B) A member of the committee established under 29 subdivision (c)(6)(A) of this section who votes with the majority under 30 subdivision (c)(11)(A) of this section shall write a summary of the reasons 31 for the majority's decision. 32 (C) Notice of the committee's decision under subdivision 33 (c)(11)(A) of this section and the summary prepared under subdivision 34 (c)(11)(B) of this section shall be given by hand or by certified mail to the 35 person who submitted the request under subdivision (c)(5) of this section; 36 HB1028 6 11/20/2024 7:42:48 AM (12)(A) If the committee established under subdivision (c)(6)(A) 1 of this section decides not to relocate the material being challenged, the 2 person who submitted the request under subdivision (c)(5) of this section may 3 appeal the committee's decision to the board of directors for the school 4 district by filing a written appeal to the superintendent within five (5) 5 working days of the committee's decision or written receipt of the 6 committee's decision. 7 (B)(i) If a person appeals the decision of a committee 8 under this subdivision (c)(12), the superintendent shall present the material 9 being challenged, the request submitted by the person under subdivision 10 (c)(5) of this section, the committee's decision under subdivision (c)(11)(A) 11 of this section, and the summary prepared under subdivision (c)(11)(B) of 12 this section to the board of directors within fifteen (15) days of the 13 committee's decision. 14 (ii) In addition to the information required to be 15 provided under subdivision (c)(12)(B)(i) of this section, the superintendent 16 may also include the administration's recommendation regarding the appeal 17 submitted under this subdivision (c)(12). 18 (C)(i) The members of the board of directors shall review 19 the information submitted to them under this subdivision (c)(12) and shall 20 make a decision on the appeal within thirty (30) days of receiving the 21 information. 22 (ii) The decision of a board of directors under 23 subdivision (c)(12)(C)(i) of this section is final; and 24 (13) A meeting held regarding a challenge or an appeal submitted 25 under a written policy adopted by a school district under subsection (b) of 26 this section shall be a public meeting and the records submitted and 27 considered at a meeting shall be public records under the Freedom of 28 Information Act of 1967, § 25-19-101 et seq. 29 30 SECTION 5. Arkansas Code § 13-2-106 is repealed. 31 13-2-106. Establishment of guidelines for selection, relocation, and 32 retention of materials — Definitions. 33 (a) Each county or municipal library shall have a written policy to 34 establish guidelines for the selection, relocation, and retention of physical 35 materials that are available to the public. 36 HB1028 7 11/20/2024 7:42:48 AM (b) A county or municipal library shall have a written policy for 1 addressing challenged material that is physically present in the library and 2 available to the public and meets the requirements stated in subsection (c) 3 of this section. 4 (c) A written policy adopted by a county or municipal library under 5 subsection (b) of this section shall provide, at a minimum, the following: 6 (1) A person affected by the material to be challenged or an 7 employee of the county or municipal library may challenge the appropriateness 8 of material available in the county or municipal library; 9 (2) The county or municipal library shall decide if material 10 being challenged shall remain available throughout the challenge process; 11 (3) Before a person can file a challenge, the person shall 12 request a meeting with the librarian of the county or municipal library; 13 (4) Before a meeting under subdivision (c)(3) of this section 14 occurs, the county or municipal library shall provide a copy of the following 15 to a person who requests a meeting under subdivision (c)(3) of this section: 16 (A) The written policy adopted by the county or municipal 17 library under subsection (b) of this section; and 18 (B) A form or other method by which a person may request a 19 reconsideration of the appropriateness of the material being challenged; 20 (5) After the meeting requested under subdivision (c)(3) of this 21 section occurs, if the person who requested the meeting wants to formally 22 challenge the appropriateness of the material that was the subject of the 23 meeting, the person shall complete and submit the request for reconsideration 24 using the form or other method provided under subdivision (c)(4)(B) of this 25 section to challenge the material that was the subject of the meeting; 26 (6)(A) In conducting a review of material being challenged, the 27 librarian of the county or municipal library shall select a committee of 28 library personnel. 29 (B) The librarian or his or her designee shall be a member 30 of the committee and may serve as the chair of the committee established 31 under subdivision (c)(6)(A) of this section. 32 (C) The committee members who are not the librarian shall 33 have knowledge appropriate for the material being challenged and be 34 representative of diverse viewpoints; 35 (7)(A) The committee established under subdivision (c)(6)(A) of 36 HB1028 8 11/20/2024 7:42:48 AM this section shall determine if the material being challenged meets the 1 criteria of selection. 2 (B) Material being challenged: 3 (i) Shall not be withdrawn solely for the viewpoints 4 expressed within the material; and 5 (ii) Shall be reviewed in its entirety and shall not 6 have selected portions taken out of context; 7 (8) The county or municipal library shall convene a meeting of 8 the committee established under subdivision (c)(6)(A) of this section after 9 allowing a reasonable time for the committee members to adequately review the 10 material being challenged and the request submitted under subdivision (c)(5) 11 of this section by the person challenging the appropriateness of the 12 material; 13 (9) The committee established under subdivision (c)(6)(A) of 14 this section shall allow the person who submitted the request under 15 subdivision (c)(5) of this section to present his or her request to the 16 committee; 17 (10) After hearing from the person who submitted the request 18 under subdivision (c)(5) of this section, the committee established under 19 subdivision (c)(6)(A) of this section shall meet to discuss the material 20 being challenged; 21 (11)(A) The committee established under subdivision (c)(6)(A) of 22 this section shall vote to determine whether the material being challenged 23 shall be relocated within the library's collection to an area that is not 24 accessible to minors under eighteen (18) years of age. 25 (B) A member of the committee established under 26 subdivision (c)(6)(A) of this section who votes with the majority under 27 subdivision (c)(11)(A) of this section shall write a summary of the reasons 28 for the majority's decision. 29 (C) Notice of the committee's decision under subdivision 30 (c)(11)(A) of this section and the summary prepared under subdivision 31 (c)(11)(B) of this section shall be given by hand or by certified mail to the 32 person who submitted the request under subdivision (c)(5) of this section; 33 (12)(A) If the committee established under subdivision (c)(6)(A) 34 of this section decides not to relocate the material being challenged, the 35 person who submitted the request under subdivision (c)(5) of this section may 36 HB1028 9 11/20/2024 7:42:48 AM appeal the committee's decision to the governing body of the county or city 1 by filing a written appeal to the executive head of the governing body of the 2 county or city within five (5) working days of the committee's decision or 3 written receipt of the committee's decision. 4 (B)(i) If a person appeals the decision of a committee 5 under this subdivision (c)(12), the executive head of the county or city 6 shall present the material being challenged, the request submitted by the 7 person under subdivision (c)(5) of this section, the committee's decision 8 under subdivision (c)(11)(A) of this section, and the summary prepared under 9 subdivision (c)(11)(B) of this section to the governing body of the county or 10 city within fifteen (15) days of the committee's decision. 11 (ii) In addition to the information required to be 12 provided under subdivision (c)(12)(B)(i) of this section, the executive head 13 of the county or city may also include his or her recommendation regarding 14 the appeal submitted under this subdivision (c)(12). 15 (C)(i) The members of the governing body of the county or 16 city shall review the information submitted to them under this subdivision 17 (c)(12) and shall make a decision on the appeal within thirty (30) days of 18 receiving the information. 19 (ii) The decision of the governing body of the 20 county or city under subdivision (c)(12)(C)(i) of this section is final; and 21 (13) A meeting held regarding a challenge or an appeal submitted 22 under a written policy adopted by a county or city library under subsection 23 (b) of this section shall be a public meeting and the records submitted and 24 considered at a meeting shall be public records under the Freedom of 25 Information Act of 1967, § 25-19-101 et seq. 26 (d) As used in this section: 27 (1) “Executive head of the county or city” means: 28 (A) For a county library, the executive head of the 29 county; 30 (B) For a city library, the executive head of the city; 31 and 32 (C) For a library that is funded by both a county and a 33 city, the executive head of the county or city that provides the majority of 34 the funding for the library; and 35 (2) “Governing body of the county or city” means: 36 HB1028 10 11/20/2024 7:42:48 AM (A) For a county library, the county; 1 (B) For a city library, the city; and 2 (C) For a library that is funded by both a county and a 3 city, the county or city that provides the majority of the funding for the 4 library. 5 6 SECTION 6. Arkansas Code Title 13, Chapter 2, Subchapter 2, is amended 7 to add an additional section to read as follows: 8 13-2-215. Administration of state programs of aid. 9 In determining a public library's eligibility to receive funding from 10 state programs of aid, the Arkansas State Library shall provide state funding 11 to a library only if the public library has a written policy prohibiting the 12 practice of banning books or other materials because of partisan or doctrinal 13 disapproval. 14 15 SECTION 7. Arkansas Code § 13-2-704(b), concerning the disclosure of 16 information permitted by a library, is repealed. 17 (b) A library may disclose confidential library records to: 18 (1) The patron; and 19 (2) The parent or legal guardian of a patron who is younger than 20 eighteen (18) years of age. 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36