Library Bill Added as Amendment to SF 2432

On Tuesday, March 31, amendment H-8277 was filed. This is an amendment to H-8260, which was filed last week to SF 2432, a bill which would remove a city's ability to create a board of health or health department. The new amendment would clarify and make changes to H-8260.

H-8260 includes several items which would have significant impacts on libraries in Iowa. It would change the independence of library boards, removing their authority and making them advisory to the City Council. 

This would:

• Eliminate independence of library boards
• Require cities to absorb library administrative, financial, oversight and policy authority on July 1, 2026, effectively mandating an overnight transition.
• Change the process for appointing library board members from the Mayor to the City Council, with an option to dissolve existing boards completely and remake them. 
• Consolidate power in elected positions, increasing the risk of politicizing decisions about library materials.
• Give elected officials (City Council) the final say on library materials challenges.
• Create a standard for "age-appropriate" materials defined as “topics and messages suitable to particular ages based on developing cognitive, emotional, and behavioral capacity typical for the age. It does not include any material with descriptions or visual depictions of a sex act.”
• It ties all state and local funding to content-based restrictions.

HF 8277 would amend the amendment to make a clearer definition of restricted content. It would replace "age appropriate" materials with a specific legal definition of "material harmful to minors." 

It would require libraries to adopt specific "youth-protective policies" preventing minors from accessing the designated materials without parental approval. It would require libraries to allow parents to monitor a child's borrowing activity and to submit annual compliance reports to the state. 

It adds language to clarify a process for parents to sue a library for providing access to restricted materials without permission. 

SF 2432 would need to pass in both chambers with this amendment language included in order for this to become law. Right now, SF 2432 is eligible for debate in the House. 

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Speak Up for The Library!

Special Library Levy

In 2003, residents in Davenport voted to give a little extra money to The Library through taxes. This helped build and run our Fairmount and Eastern branches. But in 2023, a new law stopped that extra money. Now, some libraries in Iowa, especially in small towns, are having a hard time. People who care about libraries are asking lawmakers to bring the extra money back. You can help by telling your leaders why libraries are important!

DETAILS: The levy was a local voter-approved property tax that allowed residents to tax themsleves $0.27 per $1,000 assessed value to provide for enhanced library service in their community. This Issue Brief highlights the challenges faced by institutions and communities that previously relied on the levies eliminated by HF718. Numerous libraries and museums that depend on this funding are experiencing significant difficulties, particularly in rural areas, should the levies not be restored. A call to action has been issued by those in the library and museum community, as the legislature is currently deliberating additional property tax bills, HSB313/SSB1208 & SSB1227, and advocates believe this represents the best chance for the restoration of the levies.

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