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SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2679 FILED ON: 6/30/2023
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2447
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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PRESENTED BY:
Jacob R. Oliveira
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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act protecting against attempts to ban, remove, or restrict library access to materials.
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PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :Jacob R. OliveiraHampden, Hampshire and WorcesterAaron L. Saunders7th HampdenJessica Ann Giannino16th Suffolk7/10/2023Sal N. DiDomenicoMiddlesex and Suffolk7/12/2023Robyn K. KennedyFirst Worcester7/12/2023Carol A. Doherty3rd Bristol7/13/2023Edward R. Philips8th Norfolk7/13/2023 1 of 5
SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2679 FILED ON: 6/30/2023
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2447
By Mr. Oliveira, a petition (accompanied by bill) (subject to Joint Rule 12) of Jacob R. Oliveira
and Aaron L. Saunders for legislation to protect against attempts to ban, remove, or restrict
library access to materials. Tourism, Arts and Cultural Development.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)
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An Act protecting against attempts to ban, remove, or restrict library access to materials.
Whereas, The deferred operation of this act would tend to defeat its purposes, which are
to protect against attempts to ban, remove or restrict library access to materials, therefore it is
hereby declared to be an emergency law, necessary for the immediate preservation of the public
convenience.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1. Section 10 of chapter 78 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022
2Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 8, the words “male or female,”.
3 SECTION 2. Said section 10 of said chapter 78, as so appearing, is hereby further
4amended by striking out, in line 13, the word “chairman” and inserting in place thereof the
5following word:- chair.
6 SECTION 3. Section 11 of said chapter 78, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding
7the following sentence:- The board shall implement standards adopted by the American Library
8Association, including, but not limited to, its Library Bill of Rights, and shall, subject to 2 of 5
9appropriation, appropriate funding to support the expansion of access to library materials as
10necessitated by said standards.
11 SECTION 4. Section 14 of said chapter 78, as so appearing, is hereby amended by
12striking out, in line 5, the word “his” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- the
13member’s.
14 SECTION 5. Said section 14 of said chapter 78, as so appearing, is hereby further
15amended by striking out, in line 13, the word “chairman” and inserting in place thereof the
16following word:- chair.
17 SECTION 6. Said section 14 of said chapter 78, as so appearing, is hereby further
18amended by striking out, in lines 18 and 21, the word “his” and inserting in place thereof, in each
19instance, the following word:- their.
20 SECTION 7. Said section 14 of said chapter 78, as so appearing, is hereby further
21amended by striking out, in line 19, the word “him” and inserting in place thereof the following
22words:- the director.
23 SECTION 8. Said section 14 of said chapter 78, as so appearing, is hereby further
24amended by striking out, in line 22, the word “him” and inserting in place thereof the following
25words:- the deputy director.
26 SECTION 9. Section 15 of said chapter 78, as so appearing, is hereby amended by
27inserting after the word “library”, in line 6, the following words:- in accordance with standards
28adopted by the American Library Association including, but not limited to, its Library Bill of
29Rights. 3 of 5
30 SECTION 10. Section 19A of said chapter 78, as so appearing, is hereby amended by
31inserting after the word “board”, in line 5, the following words:- , which shall include, but not
32limited to, adhering to the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights. If a town or
33city does not follow these criteria and if the city or town takes action to ban materials and library
34access, they lose access to the State Aid.
35 SECTION 11. Section 19E of said chapter 78, as so appearing, is hereby amended by
36adding the following paragraph:-
37 To expand access to resources. The board shall adopt and offer guidelines consistent
38with the standards adopted by the American Library Association including, but not limited to, its
39Library Bill of Rights.
40 SECTION 12. Section 33 of said chapter 78, as so appearing, is hereby amended by
41inserting after the word “establish”, in line 3, the following words:- and implement.
42 SECTION 13. Said section 33 of said chapter 78, as so appearing, is further amended by
43inserting after the word “Association”, in line 6, the following words:- including, but not limited
44to, its Library Bill of Rights
45 SECTION 14. Said chapter 78 is hereby further amended by adding the following 2
46sections: -
47 Section 35. There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a
48separate fund, to be known as the Book Access Fund, that will be allocated to cities or towns that
49have challenged the banning of books. The board of library commissioners shall administer
50allocation to the treasurer of cities or towns. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the 4 of 5
51contrary, there shall be credited to the fund any revenue subject to appropriations or other money
52authorized by the general court and specifically designated to be credited to the fund.
53Expenditures made from the fund shall complement and not replace existing local, state, private
54or federal funding. Amounts credited to the fund shall be expended, without further
55appropriation, including but not limited to increasing collections of books, staff training, and
56supporting programming that expand access to library materials. The board of library
57commissioners shall promulgate guidelines as necessary to implement this section.
58 Section 36. The board of library commissioners shall promulgate rules and regulations
59to:
60 (i) implement the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights;
61 (ii) provide library service for every citizen in the commonwealth by extending library
62facilities to underserved areas;
63 (iii) provide library materials to meet the needs of students at every educational level;
64 (iv) provide adequate library materials to satisfy the reference and research needs of the
65citizens of the commonwealth;
66 (v) provide an adequate staff of professionally- trained librarians for the commonwealth;
67 (vi) ensure that materials are not to be removed because of partisan or doctrinal and
68develop a written statement declaring the inherent authority of the library or library system to
69provide an adequate collection stock of books and other materials sufficient in size and varied in
70kind and subject matter to satisfy the needs of the citizens of the Commonwealth and prohibit the
71practice of banning specific books or resources; 5 of 5
72 (vii) provide adequate library outlets and facilities with convenient locations and hours of
73operation to serve the citizens of the commonwealth;
74 (viii) encourage existing and new libraries to develop library systems serving a
75sufficiently large population to support adequate library service at a reasonable cost; and
76 (ix) foster the economic and efficient utilization of public funds.
77 SECTION 15. The board of library commissioners shall submit a report on the banning
78of books in the commonwealth and its impact on communities along with recommendations, if
79any, on how to ensure the expansion of library materials and protect against attempts to ban,
80remove, or otherwise restrict access to books or other materials to the clerks of the senate and
81house of representative, joint committee on municipalities and regional government, and the
82senate and house committee on ways and means.