Connect with us

Idaho

Idaho libraries must move materials deemed harmful to children, or face lawsuits, under new law • Idaho Capital Sun

Published

on

Idaho libraries must move materials deemed harmful to children, or face lawsuits, under new law • Idaho Capital Sun


Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed into law a bill to require Idaho public and school libraries to move materials deemed harmful to children, or face lawsuits.

House Bill 710, backed by Republican legislative leaders, follows years of attempts by the Idaho Legislature to regulate materials deemed harmful to children in Idaho libraries. 

Little’s office received 2,227 calls and 4,923 emails against the bill, and 1,297 calls and 2,954 emails in favor of the bill, said Madison Hardy, Little’s spokesperson. 

“I share the cosponsors’ desire to keep truly inappropriate library materials out of the hands of minors. That said, I still believe a greater harm confronts our children — content accessible to them on their phones and devices,” Little wrote in a letter to lawmakers Wednesday after he signed the bill. 

Advertisement

Little wrote that he will be watching the implementation and outcomes of the law “very closely.”

The Idaho Family Policy Center, a conservative Christian group that has spearheaded library-related legislation, said in a news release Wednesday that the bill “largely utilizes model language that was drafted by Idaho Family Policy Center last year.” The center said it is “directly responsible for mobilizing” more than 3,000 Idahans to contact Little’s office in support of the legislation over the past week.

The Idaho Library Association, which represents more than 260 librarians statewide, said it was “so disappointed.”

“We will continue our efforts in supporting all libraries and their communities moving forward. Please check on your librarians,” the group said in its post on X.

Advertisement

Law would mandate relocating ‘harmful’ Idaho library materials; some librarians called it unneeded

House Bill 710 lets children or their parents file a legal claim against a public or school library if they obtain materials deemed harmful to minors. 

That’s if libraries don’t move materials within 60 days of receiving a request to relocate the material “to a section designated for adults only.” Children or parents could receive $250 in statutory damages, along with actual damages and other relief, such as injunctive relief, under the law.

Some librarians have called the bill unneeded, telling lawmakers in a House committee this year that local library relocation policies handle community complaints, while others worried it would strain libraries.

The law takes effect July 1.

Advertisement

Idaho librarians contemplate leaving work — and the state — as a result of proposed legislation

Most Idahoans — 69% — trust library staff with book selection, while 23% of Idahoans do not, according to this year’s Idaho Public Policy Survey. More than half of Idaho librarians are considering leaving library work as a result of library-related legislation, according to an informal survey conducted by the Idaho Library Association.

The Idaho Senate passed the bill in a 24-11 vote last week. The Idaho House, after a tense debate, passed the original version of House Bill 710 in March. The Idaho House passed the amended bill on a 45-24 vote last week.

The Senate late last month amended the bill to extend the deadline to move materials from 30 to 60 days, and require libraries to have a relocation policy.

Advertisement

GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX

Advertisement

What would the bill do?

In 2022, a bill that critics said could lead to librarians being prosecuted for checking out materials deemed harmful to minors passed the Idaho House, but did not advance in the Idaho Senate. And last year, Little vetoed a bill that would have allowed parents to sue libraries or schools for up to $2,500 in statutory damages if they provided “harmful materials” to minors.

Little, in his letter to lawmakers, said the new bill addresses most but not all of the concerns Little raised in a letter after he vetoed a bill last year. He pointed to the bill’s reduced damages and that the bill allows “a fair opportunity for local libraries to avoid legal action and fees.”

Little said he was proud to sign House Bill 498 this year, which requires age verification on pornography websites. He said the bill was “a good start.”

“I was disappointed the Legislature passed up an opportunity to advance meaningful legislation to truly protect children from the harms of social media, as I called on this body to do during my State of the State and Budget Address in January,” Little wrote.

Advertisement

House Bill 710 relies on Idaho’s existing definition of materials harmful to minors, which includes “any act of … homosexuality” under its definition of sexual conduct. 

The bill also amends Idaho’s legal definition of materials harmful to minors. One of those amendments adds a definition of schools that includes “any public and private school” that provides K-12 instruction.

Under the bill, a county prosecuting attorney or attorney general would have cause of action for “injunctive relief against any school or public library” that violates the bill’s ban on promoting, giving or making available to children material that’s considered harmful to minors.

The bill requires libraries to have a form for people to request review of materials.

The bill outlines two affirmative defenses to civil causes of action: A reasonable cause to believe that the minor was at least age 18, like a driver’s license; or verification that the minor was accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. 

Advertisement





Source link

Idaho

Gov. Little signs bill ending license plate registration stickers in Idaho

Published

on

Gov. Little signs bill ending license plate registration stickers in Idaho


Gov. Brad Little has signed House Bill 533, which would remove the need for license plate stickers on Idaho vehicles.

The legislation, introduced earlier this session by Rep. Jon Weber (R) of Boise, eliminates the requirement for registration stickers on Idaho license plates. Weber stated during the bills intorduction that officers can verify the status of license plates without the stickers, potentially saving the state around $300,000.

During the bill’s introduction, some lawmakers argued that it could increase the workload for law enforcement.

Comment with Bubbles
Advertisement

BE THE FIRST TO COMMENT

The new law is set to take effect in July.



Source link

Continue Reading

Idaho

Idaho resolution opposing same-sex marriage advances

Published

on

Idaho resolution opposing same-sex marriage advances


For the second year in a row, House lawmakers will consider urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn its ruling legalizing same-sex marriage.

The nonbinding resolution, which carries no legal weight, says the decision in Obergefel v. Hodges violates the longstanding religious definition of marriage between one man and one woman.

“The current definition of marriage that allows for same-sex marriages is a defilement of the word marriage,” said Rep. Tony Wisniewski (R-Post Falls), who sponsors the measure.

The resolution further states that the Obergefel decision “arbitrarily and unjustly” rejects the historical definition of marriage.

Advertisement

Idaho voters passed a constitution amendment in 2006 that defines marriage as between one man and one woman, which was invalidated by the Obergefel ruling.

Wisniewski said regulating marriages should be a power left to the states.

Rep. Brent Crane (R-Nampa) agrees.

“If you want to get things … closer to the people with respect to some of these more complex social issues, I think the best place for those things to happen is in the states,” Crane said.

Doing so is a risk, he said.

Advertisement

“You may have states that choose to acknowledge [polyamorous relationships]. You may have states that choose to have relationships between adults and younger children,” Crane said.

Cities in neighboring Oregon and Washington, for example, are considering giving those in polyamorous relationships legal recognition.

But he said that risk is worth it to allow other states that choose to only recognize traditional marriages.

Four lawmakers on the House State Affairs Committee opposed the resolution.

Rep. Erin Bingham (R-Idaho Falls) said she’s tried to balance her own religious beliefs with those of others while considering the measure.

Advertisement

“I do feel like that it is important for us to work together, to find ways to compromise and to live together in peace and mutual respect,” Bingham said.

The resolution now goes to the House floor for consideration.

House lawmakers last year passed a similar measure, but it never received a hearing in a Senate committee.

Copyright 2026 Boise State Public Radio

Advertisement





Source link

Continue Reading

Idaho

University of Idaho professor awarded $10M after TikTok tarot influencer claimed she ‘ordered’ quadruple murders

Published

on

University of Idaho professor awarded M after TikTok tarot influencer claimed she ‘ordered’ quadruple murders


A University of Idaho professor won a $10 million judgment after a tarot TikTok influencer publicly pushed false claims that she was behind the savage quadruple slayings of four college students.

A Boise jury in US District Court ordered fortune-telling Texas TikToker Ashley Guillard on Friday to pay $10 million after concluding she falsely accused professor Rebecca Scofield of having a secret romance with one of the four victims and orchestrating their killings, the Idaho Statesman reported.

Following the verdict, Scofield thanked the jury and said she hopes the case sends a clear warning that making “false statements online have consequences in the real world.”

Ashley Guillard posted TikTok videos falsely linking a University of Idaho professor to the Idaho college murders, leading to a defamation lawsuit. TikTok/ashleyisinthebookoflife4

“The murders of the four students on November 13, 2022, were the darkest chapter in our university’s history,” Scofield told Fox News.

Advertisement

“Today’s decision shows that respect and care should always be granted to victims during these tragedies. I am hopeful that this difficult chapter in my life is over, and I can return to a more normal life with my family and the wonderful Moscow community.”

Scofield, the university’s history department chair, filed the lawsuit in December 2022 — just weeks after Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were brutally stabbed to death at an off-campus rental home in Moscow, Idaho, on Nov. 13, 2022.

Guillard began uploading videos to her more than 100,000 TikTok followers in late November 2022, accusing Scofield of a secret relationship with one of the students and claiming she had “ordered” the killings, garnering millions of views across the social media platform.

The complaint states that Scofield had never met the victims and was out of state when the murders occurred.

Idaho murder victims Madison Mogen, 21, top left, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, bottom left, Ethan Chapin, 20, center, and Xana Kernodle, 20, right, and their two surviving roommates.

Even after being served with cease-and-desist letters and after police publicly confirmed Scofield had no connection to the murders, the Houston-based tarot reader continued posting videos, the history professor’s legal team argued.

Advertisement

Guillard doubled down on her accusations against Scofield after being sued, posting a defiant video saying, “I am not stopping,” and challenging why Scofield needed three lawyers to sue her “if she’s so innocent.”

The professor’s legal team argued the defamatory accusations painted her as a criminal and accused her of professional misconduct that could derail her career.

Bryan Kohberger pleaded guilty to the savage slayings in July 2025 in a plea deal that took the death penalty off the table. AP

Bryan Kohberger, then studying criminology at Washington State University, pleaded guilty in July 2025 to the quadruple murders in a deal that took the death penalty off the table. He is currently serving four consecutive life sentences in Idaho.

In June 2024, Chief US Magistrate Judge Raymond Patricco found Guillard’s statements legally defamatory, leaving damages to be decided by a jury.

During the damages trial, Scofield described the anguish of seeing her name tied to the murders online, the Idaho Statesman reported.

Advertisement
The off-campus home where four University of Idaho students were stabbed to death on Nov. 17, 2022, in Moscow, Idaho. James Keivom

However, Guillard, acting as her own attorney, insisted her comments were simply beliefs based on tarot card readings.

She claimed to have psychic powers and testified that she relied on tarot cards to try to solve the shocking homicides that shook the rural college town and sparked global attention.

It took jurors less than two hours to return their verdict, the outlet reported.

The jury awarded Scofield $7.5 million in punitive damages in addition to $2.5 million in compensatory damages.

With Post wires

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending