Mariah Ralston, Bismarck

Co-chairs, Right to Read ND

Senate Bill 2307 takes aim at content in libraries and schools, and if it passes, North Dakota taxpayers will have to pay millions of dollars to implement it.

Taxpayers would be on the hook for $2 million for unnecessary age verification software on our online library databases, which are used by North Dakota libraries and schools.

Why is this unnecessary? Our libraries and schools already implement internet filters to comply with the Children’s Internet Protection Act.

This $2 million doesn’t even include all the ways libraries, local governments, and taxpayers would have to pay up if this bill passes.

Libraries may need to remodel to make materials inaccessible to children, especially our small rural libraries. Local governments may need to spend extra resources on staff time to go through hundreds of books in the adult section of the library for “explicit sexual material,” because this type of material isn’t in our children’s sections.

The proposed law even has state’s attorneys getting involved in book challenges. Taxpayers may need to pay for court cases or staff time for law enforcement to take action on these challenges.

Senate Bill 2307 is unnecessary, expensive, and time-consuming for library staff. It also takes away North Dakotans’ rights to access information in the library.

We ask North Dakota lawmakers to consider the taxpayer burden of Senate Bill 2307.