SB 238 Alaska Senate · 34th Legislature (2025-2026)

An Act relating to access to library material; and relating to affirmative defenses to the offenses of enticement of a minor, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and distribution of indecent material to minors.

SB 238 adds an affirmative defense for library, school, and museum employees in criminal cases involving minor-related offenses (like distributing indecent material to minors), meaning they can argue they were acting within their job duties. It requires public libraries to adopt written policies for selecting and reviewing materials that prevent censorship based on content, origin, or viewpoint, and ensures materials remain available during reconsideration requests. The policy must include a clear process for patrons to request reviews - without removal during the review - and consider factors like relevance, demand, and condition. This bill directly affects public libraries, their staff, and patrons by establishing standardized, transparent rules for managing library collections.
Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2026
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Feb 9, 2026 Last action Mar 25, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

SB 238 CSSB 238(EDC) · 3 edits
MINOR
The bill was amended by the Senate Education Committee to change the bill number designation from SB 238 to CSSB 238(EDC) and update the sponsor attribution to reflect committee action. The most significant substantive change is replacing 'commissioner' with 'director' in the public library material policy section, indicating a shift in which state official is responsible for establishing library curation guidelines. Additionally, the eligibility criteria for requesting library material reconsideration were modified to require individuals to hold a current library card for at least six months, up from the previous five-year service requirement.
Scope change
The bill's scope remains focused on public library material policies, but the administrative authority responsible for oversight shifted from the commissioner to the director, and patron eligibility for requesting reconsideration was tightened to require six months of library card possession.
REQUIREMENT

Changed the official responsible for establishing library material policies from 'commissioner' to 'director'.

ELIGIBILITY

Updated patron eligibility for requesting library material reconsideration to require holding a current library card for at least six months, replacing the previous requirement of having used library services within the past five years.

TECHNICAL

Updated bill designation from SB 238 to CSSB 238(EDC) and changed sponsor attribution from individual Senator Kawasaki to the Senate Education Committee.

Floor votes

How they voted

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Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
13
Key actions
1
Committee
2
Mar 25, 2026
Committee
(S) REFERRED TO JUDICIARY
upper
Mar 23, 2026
Upper · Passed
(S) Moved CSSB 238(EDC) Out of Committee
upper
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Scott Kawasaki
Scott Kawasaki
DDemocratic
AK
P