SLS 19RS-286 ENGROSSED
2019 Regular Session
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 56
BY SENATOR LONG
CHILDREN. Requests the Department of Children and Family Services to create the "Task
Force on Protecting Children from Exposure to Pornography".
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2 To urge and request the Department of Children and Family Services to establish the "Task
3 Force on Protecting Children from Exposure to Pornography" to study all issues
4 related to the exposure of children to pornography and the impact it has on their
5 lives.
6 WHEREAS, the members of the Louisiana Legislature recognize that pornography
7 is creating a public health crisis and that it perpetuates a sexually toxic environment; and
8 WHEREAS, pornography contributes to the hyper-sexualization of teens and even
9 prepubescent children in our society; and
10 WHEREAS, advancements in technology and the universal availability of the
11 internet and social media makes pornographic materials more easily accessible for young
12 children; and
13 WHEREAS, research demonstrates that one-third of ten-year-olds and one-half of
14 twelve-to-fifteen-year-olds regularly access internet pornography and other adult content;
15 and
16 WHEREAS, the average age of exposure to pornography is now eleven-to-twelve-
17 years-old; and
18 WHEREAS, exposure to pornography often serves as a substitute for sex education
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1 for children and youth and informs their sexual templates; and
2 WHEREAS, early exposure to pornography can lead to low self-esteem and body
3 image disorders, an increase in problematic sexual activity at younger ages, and an increased
4 desire among adolescents to engage in risky sexual behavior; and
5 WHEREAS, pornography that depicts violence and abuse of women and children
6 tends to normalize such behavior; and
7 WHEREAS, pornography equates violence toward women and children with sex, and
8 pain with pleasure, which increases the demand for sex trafficking, prostitution, child sexual
9 abuse images, and child pornography; and
10 WHEREAS, potential detrimental effects on children and youth exposed to
11 pornography can impact brain development and functioning, contribute to emotional and
12 medical illness, shape deviant sexual arousal, and lead to difficulty in forming or
13 maintaining positive, intimate relationships, as well as promote problematic or harmful
14 sexual behavior and addiction; and
15 WHEREAS, studies conclude exposure to pornography at an early age is especially
16 detrimental, causing addictions to instant gratification and greater impulses for increasingly
17 more shocking material, leading to engagement in progressively more risky sexual behavior;
18 and
19 WHEREAS, pornography use is linked to lessening desire in young men to marry,
20 dissatisfaction in marriage, and infidelity, and this link demonstrates that pornography has
21 a detrimental effect on the family, the fundamental social unit in our culture; and
22 WHEREAS, efforts to prevent pornography exposure and addiction, to educate
23 individuals and families concerning its harmful effects, and to develop recovery programs
24 must be addressed systemically in a manner that holds providers accountable.
25 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
26 urge and request the Department of Children and Family Services to establish the "Task
27 Force on Protecting Children from Exposure to Pornography" to study all issues related to
28 the exposure of children to pornography and the impact it has on their lives.
29 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the "Task Force on Protecting Children from
30 Exposure to Pornography" shall be comprised of the following thirteen members:
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1 (1) The president pro tempore of the Louisiana Senate, or his designee.
2 (2) The speaker pro tempore of the Louisiana House of Representatives, or his
3 designee.
4 (3) The chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Women and Children, or his
5 designee.
6 (4) The secretary of the Department of Children and Family Services, or his
7 designee.
8 (5) A member of the Governor's Advisory Board of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
9 Prevention, appointed by the governor.
10 (6) The chairman of the Louisiana Cybersecurity Commission, or his designee.
11 (7) The chairman of the Children's Code Committee of the Louisiana Law Institute,
12 or his designee.
13 (8) The president of the Louisiana District Attorneys Association, or his designee.
14 (9) A representative of the Louisiana Attorney General's Cyber Crime Unit,
15 appointed by the attorney general.
16 (10) The state superintendent of education, or his designee.
17 (11) The executive director of the Louisiana Baptist Convention, or his designee.
18 (12) The executive director of the Louisiana Conference of Catholic Bishops, or his
19 designee.
20 (13) The president of the Louisiana Family Forum, or his designee.
21 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Children and Family Services
22 shall provide staff support to the task force.
23 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that in conducting the study, the task force may
24 consult with experts across the state and around the country, consider current training and
25 education initiatives, and explore all technological solutions.
26 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that members of this task force shall serve without
27 compensation, except per diem or expense reimbursement to which they may be individually
28 entitled to as members of the constituent organizations.
29 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a majority of the total membership shall
30 constitute a quorum of the task force and any official action by the task force shall require
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1 an affirmative vote of a majority of the quorum present and voting.
2 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the secretary of the Department of Children and
3 Family Services shall call an organizational meeting of the task force by August 1, 2019.
4 The task force shall elect a chairman and other officers it deems necessary.
5 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force shall make a report of its findings
6 and recommendations, with suggestions for proposed legislation, if any, to the legislature
7 no later than January 1, 2020, at which time the task force shall cease to exist.
8 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
9 secretary of the Department of Children and Family Services.
The original instrument was prepared by Morgan B. Robertson. The
following digest, which does not constitute a part of the legislative
instrument, was prepared by Cheryl M. Serrett.
DIGEST
SCR 56 Engrossed 2019 Regular Session Long
Requests the Department of Children and Family Services to establish the "Task Force on
Protecting Children from Exposure to Pornography" to study all issues related to the
exposure of children to and the impact it has on their lives.
Summary of Amendments Adopted by Senate
Committee Amendments Proposed by Senate Committee on Education to the
original bill
1. Requests the Department of Children and Family Services to establish the
task force.
2. Removes chairs of Senate and House education committees from
membership.
3. Makes technical corrections.
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