The Florida House approved a measure Wednesday that includes a definition of “materials harmful to minors” in a controversial 2023 Florida law that led to books being removed from school libraries.
The bill (HB 1119), approved in an 84-28 mostly party-line vote in the Republican-controlled chamber, considers any representation of “nudity, sexual conduct, or sexual excitement” as harmful when it appeals to any “prurient, shameful, or morbid interest” and is “patently offensive to prevailing standards.”
Rep. Kimberly Daniels of Jacksonville was the only Democrat to vote for the measure.
The identical Senate version (SB 1692) has yet to appear before a committee as the legislative session reached its mid-point on Wednesday.
Apopka Republican Rep. Doug Bankson, the bill’s sponsor, said nothing in his proposal “addresses banning classical literature or sexual orientation, gender identity, political views, religious issues, vulgarity, bad language, violence, or gore.”
The House bill revises the grounds on which any material used in a classroom or school library may be challenged and requires the State Board of Education to monitor district compliance.
Florida is currently challenging a federal district judge’s August ruling that said the 2023 law was “overbroad and unconstitutional.”
“While that decision is on appeal, districts … are now caught in an impossible position,” said Rep. Dianne Hart-Lowman, D-Tampa. “Why are we moving forward with a bill when we already have something in court?