In the upcoming 2025 Legislature Session, two bills have been introduced to politicize our apolitical library institutions and criminalize librarians for shelving diverse viewpoints in the young adult and children sections. These bills were defeated last year, but have been refiled in their current iteration and are backed by anti-library extremists Clean Up Alabama, Eagle Forum, Moms For Liberty and Local Alabama with robust support from Alabama Policy Institute and their partner organization, 1819 News. 

HB 4 “Jail the Librarians Bill”

HB 4 was filed by House Rep. Arnold Mooney in the Alabama House Judiciary Committee. The bill currently has 50 sponsors, including Rep. Susan Dubose, who has introduced numerous anti-trans and anti- LGBTQ bills and stripped the North Shelby community of their right to vote for their library board. HB 4 seeks to strip obscenity exemption from libraries and public schools and redefines “harmful to minors” and “obscenity.” Any content deemed by these anti-library groups as “harmful to minors” must be removed from minor sections. It opens libraries and public schools to lawsuits and possible misdemeanor charges. This will substantially increase the cost of operating libraries as insurance costs to protect them from lawsuits rise. Any potential cases to be handled in municipal court and allows parents to bring a complaint and force removal of books based on viewpoint discrimination. Alabama’s current law does not classify the level of misdemeanor, but sets a fine of up to $10,000 and one year in jail for distributing material “harmful to minors” to minors. Bill sponsors are: Representatives Mooney, Ledbetter, Stadthagen, Kiel, Kirkland, Colvin, Estes, Moore (P), Brinyark, Underwood, Pettus, DuBose, Harrison, Butler, Robertson, Hulsey, Yarbrough, Shaw, Paschal, Lipscomb, Hurst, Marques, Sorrells, Brown, Smith, Wood (D), Whorton, Rehm, Oliver, Treadaway, Bolton, Lamb, Stubbs, Baker, Hammett, Lomax, Rigsby, Gidley, Carns, Stringer, Bedsole, Woods, Sells, Pringle, Holk-Jones, Fidler, Starnes, Standridge, Fincher, Givens. 

More information on these bills here:

• Bill to arrest librarians filed for 2025 session: https://www.alreporter.com/2024/07/10/bill-to-arrest-librarians-filed-for-2025-session/
• Alabama lawmaker again files bill to criminalize librarians: https://www.al.com/news/2024/08/alabama-lawmaker-again-files-bill-to-criminalize-librarians.html

SB 6 “Library Board” bill

The “library board bill” SB 6 was refiled by Sen. Chris Elliott, the only sponsor, in the Alabama Senate Municipal and Government committee. It seeks to politicize library boards by empowering local governments to remove members at will by two-thirds majority and removes staggered terms, which will disrupt any continuity. It does not include “cause” for removal, further bending the board to the political will of the local government overseeing it.

More information on SB 6 here:

• Bill allowing city and county officials to terminate library board members prefiled for 2025: https://alabamareflector.com/2024/08/08/bill-allowing-city-and-county-officials-to-terminate-library-board-members-prefiled-for-2025/