State lawmakers passed a bill through committee Tuesday night aimed at addressing the rising trend of book bans in public libraries. The bill, known as the Librarian Protection Act, seeks to protect librarians by requiring libraries to follow their existing processes for challenging book removal or adopt such policies if they don’t have them. Failure to follow the policy could result in a loss of state funding. The bill also prevents cities and counties from removing public funding for following its removal policy.
The American Library Association reported a record number of challenged books in 2023, with attempts to censor books continuing to exceed pre-2020 numbers. The bill passed through committee by a 4-2 party line vote and is headed to the House Education Committee next. The debate surrounding the bill was contentious, with Republican lawmakers questioning the need for the legislation. However, groups like the League of Women Voters and Equality New Mexico praised the bill’s protections, emphasizing the importance of allowing individuals to make their own decisions about what they read.
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