BOISE, Idaho — The House State Affairs Committee fast-tracked the latest attempt to regulate Idaho libraries along party lines after choosing to print House Bill 710 (H710) and advance it to the House floor in one gavel.
State Affairs first approved House Bill 384 - the template behind H710 - in January; the House pushed the bill back to committee prioritizing a compromise with the Senate. That effort created Senate Bill 1289 (S1289) which failed on the Senate floor in February by a single vote - critics called it weak and complicated.
Compared to H384, H710 adds language from the Miller Test - a national judicial standard to determine the first amendment protection of a book - and a universal complaint form.
However, the copied Miller Test language is not complete in its entirety; the bill omits a section defending seemingly inappropriate content in the event the work as a whole - in context - has serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.
Rep. Todd Achilles (D-Boise) questioned bill sponsor Rep. Jaron Crane (R-Nampa) on the omission; Crane told the committee chairman he did not understand the question.
From the same language that brought forward the initial bill, H710 does not aim to ban books. The legislation creates a complaint form for library users to flag a specific book they believe to be inappropriate to minors as outlined by existing Idaho code.
This state definition includes nudity and sexual conduct. Opponents of the legislation are concerned with the state definition of those terms. Sexual conduct, for example, includes the term "homosexuality."
"I don't wanna grow up in a Bosie where I don't have access to certain content because it makes people uncomfortable," high school student Abigail Wallace said in public testimony. "The books this will ban are the very narratives of people in our community."
After a complaint is filed, the library can agree and choose to relocate the book to an adult section of the library. However, if the library disagrees, the legislation empowers the complainant to file a civil claim of $250.
Librarians opposed the bill in testimony; they argue local policy already covers these complaints. The Meridian Library District has had 13 requests for reconsideration in 12 years, according to Meridian Library District Trustee Jeff Kohler.
Not a single decision made by the board was appealed.
"These numbers tell me our community patrons and taxpayers are pleased with our library and the books it contains," Kohler said. "Please don't add complicated regulations to deal with a problem that doesn't exist."
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