The READER Act would have required booksellers to classify as “obscene” books sold to schools
Image via Texas State Library and Archives Commission The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has blocked the state of Texas from enforcing Texas law HB900 (House Bill 900, also known as READER), a The law requires any vendor wanting to sell books to Texas schools to provide an obscenity rating by Wednesday. The court declared that it would likely be found unconstitutional.
Circuit Judge Don Willett based his opinion on arguments from two bookstores. Blue Willow Books claimed in court that it had sold more than $200,000 worth of books to the Katy Independent School District over the past five to seven years, but the district had halted book purchases because of the law. They estimated that determining the ratings would cost between $200 and $1,000 per book, and that providing ratings for the books they sold to schools could cost between $4 million and $500 million. The justices declared that this action violated the First Amendment right to free speech, because booksellers had to provide ratings or lose part of their business.
The READER Act requires the Texas State Library and Archives to create standards for “obscene” and “sexually related” materials and that booksellers must classify the books they sell to schools. follow those standards and issue recall orders for “obscene” materials sold to schools, to limit the purchase and possession of “obscene” materials for their libraries, librarians to obtain parental consent for “sexually relevant” books, the Texas Education Agency monitors ratings, and booksellers who do not comply with the rating system will not sell any books to school.
Federal Judge Alan D Albright of Texas declared the READER Act unconstitutional in a written opinion filed on September 18. Judge Albright had previously ruled on August 31 to temporarily halted the law, which was scheduled to take effect September 1. After Texas appealed the order, another court issued an administrative stay so the law could continue.
Albright wrote,”The intent of the law was clearly an attempt by the State of Texas to classify and restrict books based on the level of sexual content in each book. books.” Therefore, the state will determine which books are allowed and accessible in public school libraries. According to him, the issue is whether the state is allowed to delegate classification to a third party or not. He added that Texas “has chosen not to hire anyone employed by the state” to review sexual content, instead imposing the burden on third parties without guidance. He added that “the rating program itself has a complex web of requirements” and “the government was confused and did not know how the law would actually work in practice, even though the hearing was just took place days before it took effect.”citing that there were about 40 cases in the August 18 hearing in which “the government did not know how the law would work.”
The judge concluded that the law violates the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment because of its vague language and because it forces booksellers to publish book ratings with which they may disagree . According to Albright:
“READER missed the mark on obscenity with a web of unconstitutionally vague demands. And the state, by abdicating its responsibility to protect children, forces private individuals and corporations to comply with an unconstitutional law that violates the First Amendment. Nothing in the order issued herein shall prevent the state from using feasible and constitutional means to achieve its goals.”
Retailers and free speech organizations, including the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, have filed a lawsuit asking the Court to block enforcement of the READER Act. Judge Albright also denied the defendants’ and Texas officials’ motion to dismiss.
The Texas legislature passed HB900 on June 13, 2023.
Source: ICv2 (Brigid Alverson)