HF 558 (LSB 1512YH (1) 91)

HOUSE FILE 558

BY  HAYES

A BILL FOR

An Act prohibiting certain materials in public libraries in counties and cities, authorizing civil actions, and providing civil penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 336.8, subsection 5, Code 2025, is amended to read as follows:
   5.  a.  To authorize the librarian to select and make purchases of books, magazines, periodicals, papers, maps, journals, furniture, fixtures, technology, and supplies for the library district.  However, the librarian shall not select or make purchases of any materials with descriptions or visual depictions of a sex act as defined in section 702.17 for the library district.
   b.  A public librarian shall not knowingly provide obscene material to a minor in a library.
   c.  A public librarian shall not knowingly provide hard-core pornography to a minor in a library.
   d.  A parent or guardian of a minor alleging a violation of paragraph “b” or “c” by a librarian may file a complaint with the board. If thirty days have passed and the librarian continues to violate paragraph “b” or “c”, the parent or guardian may file a complaint with a participating city council, a participating board of supervisors, or both.
   e.  If complaints have been filed in accordance with paragraph “d” and a librarian continues to violate paragraph “b” or “c”, a parent or guardian of a minor alleging a violation of paragraph “b” or “c” by a librarian may bring a civil action for damages and injunctive relief against the counties or cities that have formed a library district that employs the librarian to prohibit the librarian from continuing such violation.
   f.  If a parent or guardian is the prevailing party in a civil action instituted pursuant to paragraph “e”, all of the following shall apply:
   (1)  The court shall award reasonable attorney fees to the parent or guardian.
   (2)  The court shall assess a civil penalty against the counties or cities that have formed a library district that employs the librarian of not less than five thousand dollars plus an additional five hundred dollars per day for each day a violation occurs during the pendency of the civil action. However, the court shall not assess the additional civil penalty provided in this subparagraph if the counties or cities that have formed a library district that employs the librarian remove the obscene material from the library during the pendency of the civil action. Moneys collected from the assessment of the civil penalty provided in this subparagraph shall be remitted to the treasurer of state for deposit in the general fund of the state.
   (3)  In the case of a violation of paragraph “b”, the court shall order the counties or cities that have formed a library district that employs the librarian to pay not less than ten thousand dollars in damages to the parent or guardian.
   (4)  In the case of a violation of paragraph “c”, the court shall order the counties or cities that have formed a library district that employs the librarian to pay not less than twenty thousand dollars in damages to the parent or guardian.
   (5)  The clerk of court shall send a copy of the court’s order issued as a result of a complaint instituted pursuant to paragraph “e” and a copy of this section by restricted certified mail, return receipt requested, to the attorney general and the county attorneys of the counties or cities that have formed a library district that employs the librarian that has violated paragraph “b” or “c”.
   g.  A parent or guardian who was the prevailing party in a civil action instituted pursuant to paragraph “e” may bring a civil action for damages against the counties or cities that have formed a library district that employs the librarian if the librarian violates an injunction issued pursuant to paragraph “e”. Damages awarded pursuant to this paragraph shall include all of the following:
   (1)  Actual damages for injuries resulting from the librarian’s initial violation of paragraph “b” or “c” and the librarian’s violation of the injunction.
   (2)  A penalty in an amount determined by the court, but not less than twenty thousand dollars plus an additional one thousand dollars per day for each day the librarian’s violation of the injunction continues.
   h.  A county attorney or the attorney general may institute civil actions to enforce the provisions of this subsection. A county attorney’s or the attorney general’s receipt of a copy of a court’s injunctive order provided by the clerk of court issued as a result of a complaint instituted pursuant to paragraph “e”, along with subsequent information that a violation of paragraph “b” or “c” is continuing to occur, shall constitute probable cause that a violation of paragraph “b” or “c” has occurred.
    Sec. 2.  Section 364.3, Code 2025, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  20.  a.  A city or a librarian of a city library shall not select or make purchases of any materials for a city library with descriptions or visual depictions of a sex act as defined in section 702.17. If a library board functions in accordance with section 392.5, this subsection is also applicable to the library board.
   b.  A librarian of a city library shall not knowingly provide obscene material to a minor in a public library.
   c.  A librarian of a city library shall not knowingly provide hard-core pornography to a minor in a public library.
   d.  A parent or guardian of a minor alleging a violation of paragraph “b” or “c” by a librarian may file a complaint with a library board functioning in accordance with section 392.5 or the city council. If thirty days have passed and the librarian continues to violate paragraph “b” or “c”, the parent or guardian may file a complaint with the city council.
   e.  If complaints have been filed in accordance with paragraph “d” and a librarian continues to violate paragraph “b” or “c”, a parent or guardian of a minor alleging a violation of paragraph “b” or “c” by a librarian may bring a civil action for damages and injunctive relief against the library board if one is functioning in accordance with section 392.5 or the city that employs the librarian to prohibit the librarian from continuing such violation.
   f.  If a parent or guardian is the prevailing party in a civil action instituted pursuant to paragraph “e”, all of the following shall apply:
   (1)  The court shall award reasonable attorney fees to the parent or guardian.
   (2)  The court shall assess a civil penalty against the city that employs the librarian of not less than five thousand dollars plus an additional five hundred dollars per day for each day a violation occurs during the pendency of the civil action. However, the court shall not assess the additional civil penalty provided in this subparagraph if the city that employs the librarian removes the obscene material from the library during the pendency of the civil action. Moneys collected from the assessment of the civil penalty provided in this subparagraph shall be remitted to the treasurer of state for deposit in the general fund of the state.
   (3)  In the case of a violation of paragraph “b”, the court shall order the city that employs the librarian to pay not less than ten thousand dollars in damages to the parent or guardian.
   (4)  In the case of a violation of paragraph “c”, the court shall order the city that employs the librarian to pay not less than twenty thousand dollars in damages to the parent or guardian.
   (5)  The clerk of court shall send a copy of the court’s order issued as a result of a complaint instituted pursuant to paragraph “e” and a copy of this section by restricted certified mail, return receipt requested, to the attorney general and the county attorney of the county in which the city that employs the librarian that has violated paragraph “b” or “c” is located.
   g.  A parent or guardian who was the prevailing party in a civil action instituted pursuant to paragraph “d” may bring a civil action for damages against the city that employs the librarian if the librarian violates an injunction issued pursuant to paragraph “e”. Damages awarded pursuant to this paragraph shall include all of the following:
   (1)  Actual damages for injuries resulting from the librarian’s initial violation of paragraph “b” or “c” and the librarian’s violation of the injunction.
   (2)  A penalty in an amount determined by the court, but not less than twenty thousand dollars plus an additional one thousand dollars per day for each day the librarian’s violation of the injunction continues.
   h.  A county attorney or the attorney general may institute civil actions to enforce the provisions of this subsection. A county attorney’s or the attorney general’s receipt of a copy of a court’s injunctive order provided by the clerk of court issued as a result of a complaint instituted pursuant to paragraph “e”, along with subsequent information that a violation of paragraph “b” or “c” is continuing to occur, shall constitute probable cause that a violation of paragraph “b” or “c” has occurred.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill prohibits materials with descriptions or visual depictions of a sex act as defined in Code section 702.17 from being accessible to minors in county or city public libraries. Under the bill, a city, a city library board, a library district, or a city librarian or library district librarian is prohibited from selecting or making purchases of any materials with descriptions or visual depictions of a sex act as defined in Code section 702.17 for the public library.
   The bill provides that a public librarian for a city or a library district shall not knowingly provide obscene material or hard-core pornography to a minor in a public library. A parent or guardian of a minor alleging that a librarian has knowingly provided either of those materials to a minor may file a complaint with the appropriate library board or library district. If 30 days have passed and the public librarian continues to violate the bill, the parent or guardian may file a complaint with the applicable city council or board of supervisors.
   After filing complaints with the library board or library district and the city council or board of supervisors and after 30 days have passed, if the public librarian continues to violate the bill, the parent or guardian may bring a civil action for damages and injunctive relief against the city or any combination of cities and counties of a library district that employs the librarian.
   The bill provides that if a parent or guardian is the prevailing party in the civil action, the court shall award reasonable attorney fees and assess a civil penalty against the municipal entity responsible for employing the librarian of not less than $5,000 plus an additional $500 per day for each day a violation occurs during the pendency of the civil action. If the obscene material is removed from the library during the pendency of the civil action, the additional $500 per day is not assessed. The bill requires moneys collected from the assessment of the civil penalty to be remitted to the treasurer of state for deposit in the general fund of the state. The bill provides that if the librarian’s violation relates to obscene material, the court is required to order the municipal entity responsible for employing the librarian to pay not less than $10,000 in damages to the parent or guardian. The bill also provides that if the librarian’s violation relates to hard-core pornography, the court is required to order the municipal entity responsible for employing the librarian to pay not less than $20,000 in damages to the parent or guardian.
   The bill provides that if a parent or guardian is the prevailing party in the civil action, the clerk of court shall send a copy of the court’s order and a copy of the bill’s provision by certified mail to the attorney general and the county attorney of the applicable county of the municipal entity responsible for employing the librarian who violated the bill’s provisions.
   The bill provides that a parent or guardian who was the prevailing party in the civil action may bring a civil action for damages against the municipal entity that employs the librarian if the librarian continues to violate the injunction. The bill also provides that if the parent or guardian is the prevailing party in the proceedings, the court shall award the parent or guardian actual damages for injuries resulting from the librarian’s initial violation of knowingly providing obscene material or hard-core pornography to a minor in a public library and for violating the injunction and a civil penalty of not less than $20,000 plus an additional $1,000 per day for each day the librarian’s violation of the injunction continues.
   Code section 728.6 authorizes a county attorney to institute a civil proceeding to enjoin the dissemination or exhibition of obscene material to minors when the county attorney has reasonable cause to believe that any person is engaged or plans to engage in the dissemination or exhibition of obscene material within the county attorney’s county to minors. The bill authorizes the attorney general to also institute such civil proceedings. A county attorney’s or the attorney general’s receipt of a copy of a court’s injunctive order provided by the clerk of court along with subsequent information that a violation is continuing to occur shall constitute probable cause that a violation of knowingly providing obscene material or hard-core pornography to a minor in a public library has occurred.