The Texas House has passed a bill that will ban sexually explicit books from public school and classroom libraries. The bill had bipartisan support, with 11 Democrats joining Republicans.
The bill followed a six-hour committee hearing. Concerned parents and citizens showed strong support for the bill, which passed on April 20, by a vote of 95–52.
The bill, HB900, was filed by state Rep. Jared Patterson (R-Frisco).
Critics of the bill reportedly argued that the language is too vague and could incriminate books that would otherwise not be deemed unsuitable.
Vendors of library materials will be required to vet any content before it gets sold to public and open-enrollment schools. Speaker of the House Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont) stipulated reviewing all content as a necessity, with all sexually explicit material being prohibited from entering or remaining in taxpayer-funded school libraries….