Swipe Fee Reform and Senate Recess The Senate is currently in recess, meaning they are at home on a district work week — it’s the perfect time to set up a meeting with your senators at their local office. If you can, please call your senator, set up an in-person meeting, and urge them to support the Marshall-Durbin Amendment to the GENIUS Act. (If you don’t have time to meet, even a phone call stressing your support for the Marshall-Durbin Amendment would be impactful.) Call your senators now to set up a meeting. This is also a great time to invite your senators to your store and to share the Key Policy Issues for 2025 with them! Texas Book Ban Bills At the time of writing, Texas is expected to pass SB 13, a school library book ban bill, and is likely to pass HB 3225, a public library book ban bill. The Texas House of Representatives worked through Memorial Day to bring SB 13 to the verge of passage, all but approving a bill that will drastically increase the number of book bans in Texas school libraries based on categories as vague and subjective as profanity, indecency, and not adhering to community values. It has already passed the Senate. HB 3225 is on the Senate intent calendar for May 28, paving the way for book bans to denude the shelves of public libraries and create adults-only sections for mainstream literature. American Booksellers for Free Expression would like to thank everyone who testified, called, or wrote messages in opposition to this bill. Because of your advocacy, some of the bill’s worst features were mitigated. We also want to clarify that while these bills are directed at school and public libraries, they also impact bookstores. They can impact bookstore sales to school libraries, create obstacles to book access, and fuel a broader culture of censorship. You learn more about these bills on BookWeb’s Advocacy page. |
