By: Joshua Haiar - SD Searchlight, March 10, 2025
PIERRE — The South Dakota Senate gutted a bill Monday at the Capitol that would have subjected librarians to criminal prosecution for disseminating obscene material to children, and replaced that language with a requirement that school and public libraries allow for appeals of their determinations on obscene material.
The bill will now go back to the House for consideration of the amendment, and could go to a conference committee if the House does not concur.
Sen. David Wheeler, R-Huron, introduced the amendment. It strikes the original bill language and replaces it with new language building on a law passed last year that requires libraries to publish their policies for restricting minors from accessing obscene materials.
Wheeler’s amendment says determinations about what’s obscene can be appealed to the school board or a public library’s governing board. It also says the decisions of those boards can be appealed to court.
“With this amendment, we actually get to the heart of what this is about,” Wheeler said. “It’s about, ‘How do we make decisions about when books are or are not appropriate or legal to have on a shelf?’”
The motion to amend the bill passed 18-16, and the amended version of the bill passed 32-2.
The original version of the bill would have repealed a legal exemption that shields librarians from prosecution under laws regulating obscenity and prohibiting the dissemination of material deemed harmful to minors. Although the debate focused mostly on librarians, the original version of the bill also would have repealed the exemption for schools, universities and museums.
Supporters of the original version said it would prevent explicit content from reaching children, while opponents said it could result in locking up librarians. Some supporters distributed excerpts of books they consider obscene to lawmakers.
“If someone had knowingly given that to my children when they were little, I would want them strung up from the nearest tree,” said Sen. Taffy Howard, R-Rapid City. “There is more that I would want than a simple slap on the wrist.”
Sen. Lauren Nelson, R-Yankton, sponsored the original version in the Senate. She described it as a necessary step to ensure that public institutions are held accountable for making explicit materials accessible to minors.
Dozens of opposing librarians were in the gallery of the Senate watching the debate. In opposition to the original bill, Sen. Stephanie Sauder, R-Bryant, challenged her colleagues to “look in the eyes of the librarians up there and tell them, ‘I don’t trust you.’”
Sen. Jamie Smith, D-Sioux Falls, rejected the premise that the legislation addresses a real problem. He said it’s an unnecessary attempt to inject national culture wars into South Dakota politics.
“This bill has no purpose in the state of South Dakota,” he said.
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