Legislation aimed at protecting minors introduced in committees

BOISE, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) —On Monday at the Idaho State Capitol lawmakers voted in favor of advancing “The Children’s School and Library Protection Act”, which was introduced in the House State Affairs Committee.

Nampa Rep. Jaron Crane told committee members the legislation requires public schools and community libraries to take reasonable steps to restrict children’s access to material that is obscene or harmful to minors.

According to the proposed legislation a school or public library shall not promote, give, or make available to a minor any picture, photograph, drawing, sculpture, motion picture film, or similar visual representation or image of a person or portion of the human body that depicts nudity, sexual conduct, or sado-masochistic abuse and that is harmful to minors.

The legislation extends to books, pamphlets, magazines, other printed material matter, and sound recordings that are considered pornographic in nature, visual or audio.

“Seeing how these public schools and community libraries are funded by Idaho taxpayer dollars, it is in the best interest of our state that these institutions make a reasonable effort to restrict access to children when it comes to these materials,” Crane said.

The legislation has a civil penalty attached to it, up to $10,000 per incident, as well as, attorney fees and other costs. Additionally, any civil action must be commenced within four years after the act has occurred.

Affirmative defenses to a civil liability are the defendant had reasonable cause to believe that the minor involved was eighteen years old, because the minor exhibited a fake ID, or the minor involved was accompanied, at the time of the act, by a parent or legal guardian.

Idaho Family Policy Center President Blaine Conzatti said in a statement:

“No one is talking about banning books. We’re simply asking that schools and libraries take reasonable steps to prevent children from accessing pornographic material.”

Conzatti is one of the sponsors of the proposed legislation along with Crane and Sen. Cindy Carlson

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In the Senate Education Committee Sen. Ben Adams introduced legislation that would ensure that public schools maintain separate bathrooms, locker rooms, showers, dressing areas, and overnight accommodations for biological boys and biological girls.

The proposed legislation would also provide that public schools offer single-occupancy facilities to any student who is unwilling or unable to use the facility designated for their biological sex.

Adams, Rep. Ted Hill and the Idaho Family Center are sponsors of the legislation which will be advancing forward.

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