Summary — SB 2307 (North Dakota) — Obscenity Control, Libraries, Schools, and Digital Safety
Status
- Introduced: March 11, 2025
- Filed with Secretary of State: April 29, 2025
- Judiciary Committee adopted proposed amendments: February 18, 2025
- Note: committee reports and multiple engrossed versions exist; portions of the bill text are truncated in available documents. Review the final enrolled bill for full authoritative language.
Purpose
SB 2307 revises North Dakota criminal-obscenity statutes and creates new requirements for public libraries, school districts, state agencies, and digital vendors intended to limit minors’ access to “explicit sexual material.” It prescribes collection-review procedures, technology protections for K–12 digital resources, reporting requirements to the Legislative Management, and enforcement mechanisms including criminal penalties.
Key provisions
- Definition changes
- Clarifies the three-part test for “obscene material” and confirms obscenity is judged by ordinary adults unless material targets minors or a specially susceptible audience.
- Adds a statutory definition of “public library” as a tax-supported library (collections of books/periodicals for the general public), and in other sections references libraries established under chapter 40‑38.
- Prohibition and collection policies (section 12.1‑27.1‑03.5)
- Public libraries and school districts may not maintain books or other media that constitute “explicit sexual material” in areas easily accessible to minors.
- “Explicit sexual material” is defined by a three-part standard: appeals to prurient interest of minors; patently offensive to prevailing North Dakota adult-community standards for minors; and lacking serious value for minors.
- By January 1, 2026, each public library and school district must adopt a written policy/process to review collections. Required policy elements include removal/relocation procedures, age-appropriate collection development, a process to receive and act on individual requests to remove/relocate items, activation of a diverse decision-making committee to reconsider challenged items, and periodic review for compliance.
- Libraries and school districts must submit a compliance report to Legislative Management before May 1, 2026.
- Digital safety and technology protection (new section)
- School districts, state agencies, and public libraries may provide digital/online database resources to K–12 students only if the provider verifies compliance.
- Digital resources offered to K–12 must: (a) prohibit and prevent sending/receiving/viewing/downloading materials that are obscene or explicit sexual material; and (b) filter or block access to explicit sexual material. (Text truncated in materials; consult final version for full technical requirements and exceptions.)
- Complaint, referral, and government review
- The bill creates a multi-step complaint path for individuals (receipt, evaluation, diverse committee reconsideration, referral to a prosecutor) and contemplates review by a state’s attorney (documents reference referral to the “attorney general” or “state’s attorney” for enforcement — final text should be confirmed).
- Exceptions to criminal liability (amended 12.1‑27.1‑11)
- Retains exceptions for possession/distribution in law enforcement, judicial, or legislative activities, and possession by bona fide educational or research institutions for adult-only research (language adjusted to “may not apply”).
- Criminal penalty
- A person who willfully displays at newsstands or business establishments frequented by minors (or where minors may be invited as part of the general public, including public libraries and public school libraries) material that is “explicit sexual material” or exploitative of nudity is guilty of a class B misdemeanor.
Who is affected
- Public libraries (tax-supported, chapter 40‑38 libraries), school districts (including school and classroom libraries), state agencies (excluding the state library and higher‑education institutions in some provisions), vendors and providers of digital/online library databases offered to K–12 students, and individuals who operate businesses that display printed sexual material.
Timelines & reporting
- Policies and review processes required by: January 1, 2026.
- Compliance reports to Legislative Management due before: May 1, 2026.
Enforcement & remedies
- Administrative remedies: local removal/relocation processes, diverse committees, referrals to prosecutors.
- Criminal enforcement: Class B misdemeanor for certain public displays of explicit material to minors.
- The bill contemplates prosecutorial review (state’s attorney / attorney general) for compliance and enforcement; some procedural text is truncated and should be confirmed in final enrolled version.
Notes / Uncertainties
- Several document versions (introduced, first/second/reengrossed) contain truncated sections; some language alternates between “attorney general” and “state’s attorney.” The bill’s digital-safety section is partly truncated in available extracts. For operational detail (e.g., how filtering must be implemented, specific prosecutorial duties, definitions exclusions), consult the final enrolled bill or the legislative staff synopsis.
For further review
- Check the final enrolled and filed bill text and legislative counsel analyses for complete definitions, enforcement procedures, and any amendments adopted in later stages.
