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HB 6034

Libraries: policies and practices; public library freedom to read act; establish. Creates new act.

2023-2024 Regular Session Introduced by Joey Andrews and 22 co-sponsors

Public libraries must adopt policies for material selection, withdrawal, and reconsideration, limiting challenges and giving final authority to library directors.

REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS
#libraries:local #libraries:policiesandpractices
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Bill Summary · HB 6034

Summary — HB 6034: Public Library Freedom to Read Act

Purpose
HB 6034 would create the "Public Library Freedom to Read Act," establishing statewide standards and procedures for how public libraries in Michigan select, withdraw, and respond to challenges to materials in their collections. (A companion bill, HB 6035, is identical but applies to district libraries.)

Key provisions

  • Definitions

    • “Public library” — libraries established for free public purposes by counties, cities, townships, villages or other local governments (explicitly excludes district libraries and special/school libraries).
    • “Material” — tangible or electronic items in a library collection (books, magazines, DVDs, audio-visual items) and public library programs. Excludes websites accessed via library computers, interlibrary loan items, programs not sponsored by the library, labels, displays/location, and items in databases over which the library lacks direct selection authority.
    • “Selection,” “Withdrawal,” “Request for reconsideration,” “Legal service area,” “Contracted service area,” and “Unusual circumstances” are defined in statute.

  • Selection authority

    • The library director (or, if none, the chief executive employee) has final responsibility for selection and withdrawal of materials. That person may delegate.

  • Mandatory policy requirement

    • Within 90 days after the act’s effective date, each public library must adopt or amend a policy that at minimum includes:
    • Standards for material selection and withdrawal;
    • A process to consider requests for reconsideration (challenges);
    • Conditions for when the library will review a reconsideration request (examples below);
    • A process to determine whether a request complies with statutory limits.

  • Conditions and limits on reconsideration requests

    • Requests may be filed only for materials owned/controlled by the library.
    • Requests may be filed only by residents of the library’s legal service area or contracted service area.
    • Requesters may be required to certify they have read/viewed/listened to the entire material (or attended/read program description).
    • A library need not consider requests that fail statutory compliance; once a request has been decided, the same item cannot be reconsidered for 365 days.
    • In “unusual circumstances” (e.g., many simultaneous requests, need for board meeting, time to review), the library may extend response periods.

  • Prohibited bases for reconsideration and removal

    • A request cannot be based on the author’s religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, height, weight, familial or marital status — nor merely because the material’s subject matter or viewpoint involves those characteristics.
    • A library may not remove material for viewpoint/content reasons unless a court of competent jurisdiction has adjudicated the material obscene or otherwise unprotected by the First Amendment (or analogous state constitutional provision).

  • Remedies and enforcement

    • The Attorney General, on behalf of the Library of Michigan, may sue to compel a library to adopt a compliant policy (mandamus or other action).
    • The AG or a resident of the library’s legal service or contracted service area may seek injunctions or mandamus to prevent unlawful removal, to compel return of removed material, or otherwise enforce the act.

Who is affected

  • Directly: public libraries as defined (local municipal/county public libraries). District libraries and special/school libraries are excluded by definition (HB 6035 covers district libraries separately).
  • Indirectly: library directors and staff, local library boards, residents within library legal or contracted service areas, and the Attorney General/Library of Michigan.

Procedural / timeline notes

  • Introduced in the House: November 7, 2024 (Rep. Veronica Paiz).
  • Committee and floor action:
    • Substitute versions (H‑3 and H‑5) were adopted.
    • Passed the Michigan House on December 13, 2024 with immediate effect.
  • Post-House: Referred to Committee on Government Operations; subsequently referred (January 22, 2025) to the Joint Committee on Government Administration and Elections. Status is pending in committee as of Jan 22, 2025.

Potential impacts (practical effects)

  • Centralizes final selection/removal authority in professional library leadership and requires libraries to formalize written standards and reconsideration procedures within 90 days.
  • Limits the grounds on which materials may be challenged (bars challenges based on protected characteristics and mere viewpoint/content), potentially reducing removals motivated by those grounds.
  • Creates statutory enforcement routes (AG and resident lawsuits), which could increase litigation around contested removals or policy compliance.
  • Requires policy updates and procedural administration by libraries (staff time, possible training).

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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