HB 1375 Defeated
Need some good news?
HB 1375, Texas’s bookstore bounty bill, died without a vote last Thursday, May 15. Had it passed as introduced, the bill would have allowed anyone to file a civil suit seeking damages against a commercial entity or its shareholders if they could plausibly claim a minor was harmed by content they created, published, or displayed.
Giving “harmful to minors” material to minors is not something booksellers do — especially since it’s already illegal in the Penal Code. But even if claimants had no hope of winning their suits, we know from experience it wouldn’t stop some bad actors from suing anyway in hopes of getting a settlement or chilling booksellers’ speech. The bill would have led to a cottage industry of frivolous suits that would have disproportionately impacted the small businesses that can’t afford to fight. It could have put independent bookstores out of business.
It’s no accident that HB 1375 didn’t even get a vote on the floor. The bill was placed on page 25 of the 30-page agenda for the last day of the session, a sign that legislators knew the bill had problems and had no desire to move it forward.
How did they know the bill had problems? Because they heard about it from booksellers and those who love them. The public comment on this bill was overflowing with demonstrations of why this would be bad for booksellers, readers, publishers, and authors — but especially booksellers.
You know what that means? You did this. You made your voices heard and cut through the partisan divide to find common sense.
We at American Booksellers for Free Expression (ABFE) particularly want to shout out the booksellers who testified against the bill in committee, representing The Book Burrow, BookPeople, Next Chapter Books & Bookmobile, Patchouli Joe’s Books & Indulgences, Talking Animals Books, and Vintage Bookstore and Wine Bar.
Pictured left, left to right, back row: David Matthis (head of BookPeople board), Joe Mayes (Co-Owner, Patchouli Joe's Books); Middle row, left to right: Jessica Young (Texas author), Charley Rejsek (CEO, BookPeople), Diane Mayes (Co-Owner, Patchouli Joe's Books), Madeline Smoot (BookPeople's BookKids Buying Director), Sara Stevenson (retired public Middle School Librarian), Jean Buckner (Owner of Vintage Books & Wine), Dawn Filer Ciranna (Owner, Next Chapter Books), Katy Lemieux (Talking Animals Books and Deep Vellum Publishing); Front: Kelsey Black (Owner, The Book Burrow)
They arrived before the hearing started at 8:00 am and didn’t have a chance to give testimony until fourteen hours later. Still, they presented the case with calm and aplomb, explaining why the bill would have unintended impacts on small businesses.
The most impressive part of their testimony was how they found common ground to cut across partisan lines. In the current climate, it sounds impossible. But supporting small businesses, and especially independent bookstores, is important to people on both sides of the aisle, and the dangers of the bill were indisputable.
The moral of the story? Booksellers’ voices are powerful. You are the Main Street businesses every politician says they want to protect. And if they’re at risk of not doing it, you get to tell them.
Next Up: SB 13 and HB 3225
We may have won the fight against HB 1375, but the fight to prevent book bans from getting even worse in Texas schools and public libraries is not over. And the way things stand, it doesn’t look like we’ll win.
SB 13 could let a small group of individuals ban or restrict books for all students and library users if it contains profanity or “indecent” content (both without adequate definition).
HB 3225 could require age-verification for access to books containing any sexual content, even for older teens, regardless of whether it’s offensive or the value of the work as a whole. When we saw a similar bill pass in Idaho (HB 710), it drastically reduced library’s abilities to welcome minors. This is a particular problem for small and rural libraries.
SB 13 could be up for a committee vote this week. Can you turn the pressure up, stand up for the rights of Texas students, and do what you did for HB 1375?
Texans, tell your state representatives to vote NO on SB 13 if it comes to a vote.
HB 3225 is sitting in committee. We want it to stay there. But if it gets out of its committee, will you commit to responding to our call?
Thank you for your advocacy and attention on this issue. When book people stand together, we’re unstoppable.