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Not just South Carolina (or Florida or Texas); seemingly part of a national effort to “save the children”/push back against the “woke agenda”
Current State House bills sponsored by the SC Freedom Caucus
Potentially affects libraries and museums (and their workers)
Potentially affects colleges and universities (and their workers): course materials, reading/viewing assignments, performances, film showings, lectures, et al.
SC H3826 & S0506: Protection of Minors from Pornography and Obscenities Act
Changes state obscenity laws (16-15-375 and 16-15-385) and what is considered “harmful to minors”
Substantially changes state version of Miller Test
Miller Test = Primary legal test for determining whether expression constitutes obscenity (Miller v. California, 1973)
Whether the average person applying contemporary community standards would find the work, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest
Whether the work depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct specifically defined by the applicable state law
Whether the work, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value
SC H3706: Protection of Minors from Pornography and Obscenities Act
Amends the law (16-15-305) to prohibit advertising and promoting anything deemed obscene
Defines the term “profane language”
Miller Test impact: Parts of materials or performances can be considered obscene, not just the whole
Replaces “taken as a whole” with “any part”
Removes exemption for materials or performances with “literary, artistic, or political value”; scientific value only
As a result, undermines U.S. Supreme Court precedent
Adds definition for “profane language”
“…language or gestures communicated in any form or manner that, in context, depict or describe sexual or excretory organs or activities in terms patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards”
Removes exemption of materials that “[consist] entirely of written words”
Removes exemption for museum, public, school, college, or university libraries and their employees, i.e., their employees can be liable for dissemination of materials harmful to minors
SC H3827/S0424
SC Integrity in Education Act
Provide students in state-funded places of learning with an education focused on excellence and integrity
Equip students to think independently and critically
Support educators by maintaining a learning and work environment unencumbered by social or political activism
Treat students and employees of schools with dignity as unique individuals without stereotyping or scapegoating
Provide instruction free from ideological indoctrination or coercion
Foster and defend intellectual inquiry and freedom of speech as well as freedom from compelled speech
Protect the privacy and innocence of children and guard them against obscene and mature materials
Respect the rights of parents as their child's decision-makers for health and well-being, including emotional and sexual development
Defer to parents as their child's primary source of moral and social values
Allow parents to opt out of activities that violate this act
Establish a clear protocol for reporting violations and allowing local entities to address and correct issues
Require privacy and nondisclosure during the investigation process
Require clear distinctions between the teaching of theory and fact
Require full transparency of curricula
Bills have been referred to legislative committees
H3826 – House Committee on Judiciary (01/26/2023)
S0506 – Senate Committee on Judiciary (02/08/2023)
H3706 – House Committee on Judiciary (01/17/2023)
H3827 – House Committee on Education & Public Works (01/26/2023)
S0424 – Senate Committee on Education (01/19/2023)
The Judiciary Committee may be the best place for consideration of H3286 and H3706
Use LegiScan and copy/paste the bill number into the search area on the left side of the page.
Concerns over H3826 & H3706
Very broad, open to expansive interpretation, unintended consequences
Expands state government’s role in local decision-making
Applies to any portion of a work or performance (one word, one image, one gesture)
Undermines U.S. Supreme Court precedent
Potential criminalization of intellectual and academic freedom
Risk of felony conviction for library (and university) workers
A person who violates the provisions of this section is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be imprisoned not more than ten years or fined not more than five thousand dollars, or both
Contradicts core values of librarianship
More Concerns:
Colleges and universities can have minors (dual enrollment students, Scholars Academy, undergraduates who are younger than 18)
Could affect what we buy, what we subscribe to, what we borrow, what we lend, what we discplay
Library Bill of Rights (portion), Amendments, and Interpretations
Not acting “in loco parentis” (in place of parents)
“Recognizing that libraries cannot act in loco parentis, policies which set minimum age limits for access to videotapes and/or audiovisual material and equipment with or without parental permission abridge library use for minors. Nevertheless, ALA acknowledges and supports the exercise by parents of their responsibility to guide their own children's viewing, using published reviews of films and videotapes and/or reference works which provide information about the content, subject matter, and recommended audiences.” (American Library Association, 53.1.13)
Stay informed
Become a SC Library Advocate and sign up for legislative alerts
Participate in campus education efforts
Consider contacting local, state, or national organizations representing your discipline, e.g., South Carolina Section of ACS
Very active; has met with relevant legislative committees
In contact with American Library Association (ALA) Office of Intellectual Freedom and Public Policy & Advocacy Office
ALA concern over negative reaction to national organization involved in state legislation
Organization does not have a lobbyist or a strong administrative staff
Librarians & staff do most of the work
Complications for libraries/library workers that receive state funding
Has an active Advocacy Committee with USC Upstate representation
In communication with ALA Office of Intellectual Freedom and Public Policy & Advocacy Office
SCLA has contacted members of the House Judiciary Committee
Messaging campaign to be instituted if bills move out of committee to legislative calendar
Limited discussion among officers of College & University Section, SCLA
USC Upstate Library representation
Discussion with U of SC lobbyist
Library dean-to-dean discussions
Have spoken with my counterpart at Wofford College; sharing ideas, information, and approaches
Further outreach planned to Converse, Furman, SCC, Lander, Greenville Tech, et al.
Upstate members only:
John Richard C. King (D), York, District 49
Jason Elliott (R), Greenville, District 22
Brandon Guffey (R), York, District 48
Rosalyn D. Henderson-Myers (D), Spartanburg, District 31
John R. McCravy III (R), Greenwood, District 13
Travis A. Moore (R), Spartanburg, District 33
Upstate members only
Wes Climer (R), York, District 15
Rex F. Rice (R), Pickens, District 2 (Bill sponsor)
Scott Talley (R), Spartanburg, District 12
Josh Kimbrell (R), Spartanburg, District 11 (Bill sponsor)
Richard J. Cash (R), Anderson, District 3
Dwight Loftis (R), Greenville, District 6
Billy Garrett (R), McCormick (includes Abbeville, Greenwood, and Saluda counties), District 10
Michael Johnson (R), York, District 16 (Bill sponsor)
Taken from the Powerpoint Presentation titled "While I Breathe, I Hope ... You Won't Convict Me of a Felony for Disseminating Obscene Materials" created by John Barnett, Dean of the University of South Carolina Upstate Library on February 24, 2023 - CC BY-SA 4.0 International
Thanks to the following for their review and insights of the original presentation
Virginia Cononie, Coordinator of Reference and Research, USC Upstate Library
Jonathan Newton, Coordinator of Access Services and Library Technology, USC Upstate Library, and Co-Chair, Advocacy Committee SCLA
Lisa Roberts, Dean of the Sandor Teszler Library, Wofford Coillege
“Academic Freedom,” American Library Association
“The Freedom to Read Statement,” American Library Association
“The Freedom to View Statement,” American Library Association
“Intellectual Freedom: Issues and Resources,” American Library Association
“Libraries and Intellectual Freedom,” The First Amendment Encyclopedia
“The Library Bill of Rights,” American Library Association
“The Miller Test,” The First Amendment Encyclopedia
“Monitoring State Legislation that Criminalizes Libraries, Schools, and Museums 2023,” EveryLibrary Institute
“Policy Brief: Opposing Attempts to Criminalize Librarianship through State Obscenity Laws,” EveryLibrary Institute
“Right to Receive Information and Ideas,” The First Amendment Encyclopedia
SC H3706, A bill to amend the South Carolina Code of Laws by enacting the “Protection of Minors from Pornography and Obscenities Act” …, South Carolina Legislature
SC H3826, A bill to amend the South Carolina Code of Laws by enacting the “Protection of Minors from Pornography and Obscenities Act” …, South Carolina Legislature
SC H3827, A bill to amend the South Carolina Code of Laws by adding Section 59-29-12 …, South Carolina Legislature
SC S0424, A bill to amend the South Carolina Code of Laws by adding Section 59-29-12 …, South Carolina Legislature
SC S0506, A bill to amend the South Carolina Code of Laws by enacting the “Protection of Minors from Pornography and Obscenities Act” …, South Carolina Legislature
“South Carolina House Conservatives Form Own Freedom Caucus,” Associated Press, April 20, 2022
South Carolina Legislature (includes bill search, legislator search)
Title 16, Chapter 15, Article 3 , Sections 16-15-305, 16-15-375, 16-15-385, South Carolina Code of Laws Unannotated