North Dakota's 2023 Legislative Session saw several bills introduced regarding "explicit library materials" that groups such as Moms for Liberty claimed were found in schools and libraries all over North Dakota.


After the session, the James River Valley Library System in Jamestown actually did a full review of their collection in 2024, finding no explicit sexual materials. Regardless of examples like this, there is still a perception by some in the general public that our libraries contain “pornography.”

Here is a breakdown of the three book banning bills from 2023:

Bill #1: Senate Bill 2123 Introduced by Sen. Beard 


Content: SB 2123 was about “objectionable displays or performances to minors.”

Issues with the bill: Under the provisions of this bill, a person or business would have been guilty of a class B misdemeanor if they willfully displayed any photograph, book, or magazine, whose cover or content contained depictions or written descriptions of nude or partially nude human figures presented in a manner to exploit sex, lust, or perversion.

 - SB 2123 was particularly concerning for what it could have meant for not only libraries, but also book stores, or even art galleries and museums in North Dakota. The bill’s provisions would have affected any public place “Where minors are or may be invited as a part of the general public." This included any public roadway or public walkway.
-The broad definition for displays of either objectionable depictions or written descriptions in this bill would have potentially flagged countless materials in libraries, book stores, art galleries: anyplace where there would be potential for minors.
-Since ND libraries do not have budgets to devote to reviewing every book in their collections, it’s likely that all the romance books potentially containing written descriptions of sex or nudity in ND libraries would have had to have been disposed of or set aside in areas where minors wouldn’t be allowed. Any artwork depicting nudity or partial nudity would have been illegal to display in public in North Dakota, and potentially all art galleries and libraries would have had to close to children.

Result: SB 2123 was eventually combined with SB 2360 as an amendment adopted by the Senate Judiciary Committee without prior public notice during the first Senate Judiciary hearing for SB 2360. Bill status for SB 2123: FAILED


Bill #2: SB 2360 Introduced by Sens. Boehm, Beard, Hogue, Paulson, Wobbema, & Rep. Kasper

Content: SB 2360 was a bill amending North Dakota Century Code relating to obscenity control.

Issues with the bill: This type of bill is being seen in State Legislatures all across the US in the past few years. The bill would have altered state law by removing the traditional exceptions for museums, libraries and schools to share materials that might be considered obscene in another context.

- “Explicit sexual material" in the bill included any written, pictorial, three-dimensional, or visual depiction that is “patently offensive” including any photography, picture, or computer-generated image, showing or describing:

  •       Human masturbation; 
  •       Deviant sexual intercourse; 
  •       Sexual intercourse; 
  •       Direct physical stimulation of genitals;
  •       Sadomasochistic abuse;
  •       Post pubertal human genitals; 
  •       Sexual activity; 
  •       Sexual perversion; or 
  •       Sex-based classifications. 

This list was eventually removed and replaced with language similar to the Miller Test. This bill went through many edits, and also had 3 different fiscal notes attached throughout March and April of 2023. These fiscal notes generated by the ND State Library became a contentious issue because of the projected cost that SB2360 would have necessitated in general fund appropriation.

-For the North Dakota State Library alone they projected they would have needed an additional $3,636,913+ during the 2023-2025 biennium in order to perform a complete inventory of their collections to meet the specifications of SB 2360. Ultimately, the Senate Judiciary Committee dismissed the Fiscal notes as incorrect.

Result: SB 2360 passed as amended by the House and Senate, and very nearly became ND law. It was signed and sent to Governor Doug Burgum. Governor Burgum vetoed the bill on 4/26, citing that “Senate Bill 2360 goes too far in criminalizing potential disagreements over what constitutes material that is harmful to minors, based on the bill’s subjectivity. Senate Bill 2360 also fails to provide an appropriation to cover the considerable expense of this review process, making this an unfunded mandate that local and school libraries are ill-equipped to afford and manage.”

-The ND Senate overrode his veto that same day.
-The ND House did not have the votes to override, and the Governor’s veto was sustained. Bill status for SB 2360: FAILED

Bill #3: HB 1205 Introduced by Rep. Lefor, Rep. Steiner

Content: HB 1205 prohibits public libraries from maintaining sexually explicit books.

Issues with the bill: The definition list for HB 1205 was almost identical to SB 2360 initially and the list defining sexually explicit books included topics like sexual identity, sex-based classifications, and gender identity. 


-After committee work was done by the House and Senate Judiciary, these terms were removed: Sexual preferences; Sex-based classifications; Sexual identity; Gender identity; and Deviant sexual intercourse and the term “removal or disposal” was changed to “relocation.” Just like for SB 2360, the list of terms was replaced with the Miller Test.

 Result: HB 1205 was passed as amended in the Senate and returned to the House, where it sat untouched for 20 calendar days while SB 2360 was discussed extensively by the Legislature and the media.

-HB 1205 was ultimately passed by the House, signed by the President and Speaker, and sent to Governor Burgum, who signed HB 1205 into law on 4/25/23.
Bill status for HB 1205: PASSED
Here is the final version that passed both houses.


Wrap Up
HB 1205 put the “Miller Test” for obscenity into ND State Law…something that was unnecessary since it's already in Federal law and ND libraries never have and never will hold pornography in their collections.

This bill didn’t accomplish anything that ND libraries weren’t already doing.

Unfortunately what it did accomplish was create a lot of fear, suspicion, and it weakened the public perception of North Dakotan libraries/librarians. We are in a period now that continues to be a very discouraging time for librarians and teachers.

And the question on everyone’s minds…What will the 2025 session hold?

That’s why North Dakotans must continue to use our voices to uphold intellectual freedom. Sign our pledge today to join us!

Together we will continue to defend the Right to Read in North Dakota.