Connecticut 2025 Regular Session

Connecticut Senate Bill SB01234 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1	1
2	2
3		-	LCO 1 of 4
	3	+	LCO No. 3737 1 of 5
4	4
5		-	General Assembly ~~Substitute~~ Bill No. 1234
	5	+	General Assembly Raised Bill No. 1234
6	6		January Session, 2025
	7	+	LCO No. 3737
	8	+
	9	+
	10	+	Referred to Committee on GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION
	11	+	AND ELECTIONS
	12	+
	13	+
	14	+	Introduced by:
	15	+	(GAE)
7	16
8	17
9	18
10		-	AN ACT PROHIBITING LIBRARIES FROM AGREEING TO CERTAIN
11		-	TERMS IN ELECTRONIC BOOK AND DIGITAL AUDIOBOOK LICENSE
12		-	AGREEMENTS OR CONTRACTS.
	19	+
	20	+	AN ACT MAKING CERTAIN TERMS IN ELECTRONIC BOOK AND
	21	+	DIGITAL AUDIOBOOK LICENSE AGREEMENTS OR CONTRACTS
	22	+	UNENFORCEABLE.
13	23		Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
14	24		Assembly convened:
15	25
16	26		Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2026, and applicable to contracts or 1
17	27		license agreements entered into or renewed on or after said date) (a) As used 2
18	28		in this section: 3
19	29		(1) "Electronic literary material" means any digital audiobook or 4
20	30		electronic book; 5
21	31		(2) "Digital audiobook" means a sound recording of a reading of any 6
22	32		literary production that has been converted into or published in a digital 7
23	33		audio file that may be listened to on a computer or portable electronic 8
24	34		device; 9
25	35		(3) "Electronic book" means a text document that has been converted 10
26	36		into or published in a digital format that may be read on a computer or 11
27	37		portable electronic device; 12
	38	+	Raised Bill No. 1234
	39	+
	40	+
	41	+
	42	+	LCO No. 3737 2 of 5
	43	+
28	44		(4) "Portable electronic device" means any self-contained electronic 13
29	45		device for personal use for communicating, reading, viewing, listening, 14
30	46		playing video games or computing, including, but not limited to, a 15
31	47		mobile telephone, tablet computer, electronic book reader or other 16
32		-	similar device; 17 Substitute Bill No. 1234
33		-
34		-
35		-	LCO 2 of 4
36		-
	48	+	similar device; 17
37	49		(5) "Library" includes (A) any public library, public elementary 18
38	50		school library, secondary school library, academic library, research 19
39	51		library or public archive (i) that is funded directly or indirectly, in whole 20
40	52		or in part, during a fiscal year by the state or a political subdivision of 21
41	53		the state, including, but not limited to, matching expenditures, grants, 22
42	54		loans, bonding, insurance or guarantees, and (ii) for the duration of any 23
43	55		fiscal year in which such funding is received and the fiscal year next 24
44	56		succeeding; and (B) the State Library; 25
45	57		(6) "Publisher" means any person in the business of the manufacture, 26
46	58		promulgation, license or sale of books, audiobooks, journals, magazines, 27
47	59		newspapers or other literary productions, including those in the form of 28
48	60		electronic literary materials, and includes any aggregator who enters 29
49	61		into a contract with any library for the purpose of providing materials 30
50	62		for purchase or license from any publisher; 31
51	63		(7) "Aggregator" means any person in the business of licensing access 32
52	64		to electronic literary material collections that include electronic literary 33
53	65		material from multiple publishers; 34
54	66		(8) "Technological protection measure" means any technology that 35
55	67		enhances the security of loaning or circulating electronic literary 36
56	68		materials by a library; 37
57	69		(9) "Borrower" means any person or organization, including another 38
58	70		library, to whom a library loans a copy of electronic literary material; 39
59	71		(10) "Loan" means the creation and transmission by a library to a 40
60	72		borrower of a copy of any electronic literary material and the deletion 41
61	73		of such copy by the library upon the expiration of the loan period; and 42
	74	+	Raised Bill No. 1234
	75	+
	76	+
	77	+
	78	+	LCO No. 3737 3 of 5
	79	+
62	80		(11) "Loan period" means the period of time commencing with the 43
63	81		creation and transmission by a library to a borrower of a copy of any 44
64	82		electronic literary material and concluding with the deletion of such 45
65	83		copy by the library, as determined by the library. 46
66		-	(b) The provisions of this section shall apply to any contract or license 47 Substitute Bill No. 1234
67		-
68		-
69		-	LCO 3 of 4
70		-
	84	+	(b) The provisions of this section shall apply to any contract or license 47
71	85		agreement entered into or renewed on and after July 1, 2026, by a library 48
72	86		in the state with a publisher for the license of any electronic literary 49
73	87		material. 50
74	88		(c) On and after July 1, 2026, no library in the state shall enter into or 51
75	89		renew any contract or license agreement with a publisher that 52
76	90		precludes, limits or restricts the library from performing customary 53
77	91		operational or lending functions, including any provision that: 54
78	92		(1) Prohibits the library from loaning any electronic literary material, 55
79	93		including through any interlibrary loan system; 56
80	94		(2) Restricts the number of times the library may loan any electronic 57
81	95		literary material over the course of the contract or license agreement if 58
82	96		such contract or agreement also restricts the library's loan period for 59
83	97		electronic literary material; 60
84	98		(3) Limits the number of electronic literary material licenses the 61
85	99		library may purchase on the same date such electronic literary material 62
86	100		is made available for purchase by the public; 63
87	101		(4) Prohibits the library from making nonpublic preservation copies 64
88	102		of any electronic literary material; 65
89	103		(5) Restricts the library from disclosing the terms of the contract or 66
90	104		license agreement to any other library in the state; 67
91	105		(6) Restricts the duration of the contract or license agreement unless 68
92	106		the library also has the option of a contract or license agreement on 69
93	107		commercially reasonable terms in consideration of the library's mission, 70
94	108		that either (A) is based on a pay-per-use model, or (B) provides for the 71
	109	+	Raised Bill No. 1234
	110	+
	111	+
	112	+
	113	+	LCO No. 3737 4 of 5
	114	+
95	115		perpetual public use of the electronic literary material; 72
96	116		(7) Requires the library to violate the provisions of section 11-25 of 73
97	117		the general statutes; 74
98	118		(8) Provides that the contract or license agreement is not severable 75
99		-	from any provision within such contract or agreement that is found in a 76 Substitute Bill No. 1234
100		-
101		-
102		-	LCO 4 of 4
103		-
	119	+	from any provision within such contract or agreement that is found in a 76
104	120		judicial forum to be prohibited by this subsection; or 77
105	121		(9) Allows the enforcement of any of the provisions prohibited by this 78
106	122		subsection other than in a judicial forum. 79
107	123		(d) Any library in the state may enter into a contract or license 80
108	124		agreement with a publisher that contains: 81
109	125		(1) A limitation on the number of borrowers the library may allow to 82
110	126		have simultaneous access to any electronic literary material; or 83
111	127		(2) A provision concerning the library's reasonable use of any 84
112	128		technological protection measure that prevents a borrower from: 85
113	129		(A) Maintaining access to any electronic literary material beyond the 86
114	130		access period specified in the contract or license agreement; and 87
115	131		(B) Providing other borrowers with access to any electronic literary 88
116	132		material. 89
117	133		This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
118	134		sections:
119	135
120	136		Section 1 July 1, 2026, and
121	137		applicable to contracts or
122	138		license agreements entered
123	139		into or renewed on or after
124	140		said date
125	141		New section
126	142
127		-	Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
128		-	The title was changed.
	143	+	Raised Bill No. 1234
129	144
130		-	GAE Joint Favorable Subst. -LCO
	145	+
	146	+
	147	+	LCO No. 3737 5 of 5
	148	+
	149	+	Statement of Purpose:
	150	+	To prohibit libraries in the state from entering into contracts or license
	151	+	agreements with publishers of electronic books and digital audiobooks
	152	+	that contain certain restrictions.
	153	+
	154	+	[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
	155	+	that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
	156	+	underlined.]
131	157