California legislators are back in session Monday and ready for a massive one-month sprint with more than 1,300 bills in play.
Lawmakers spent almost all of July on summer break, and although they had already wrapped up tough budget negotiations there is still much more to do from taxing the tech industry to streamlining solar and wind energy projects.
The lights of the state Capitol glow into the night in Sacramento, California, on Aug. 31, 2022. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)
One high-profile bill would prohibit library review committees. The bill would require state public libraries to detail their policies for accepting or rejecting books, including a plan that would allow Californians to voice their objections. The measure prohibits libraries from banning material that deals with race or sexuality.
The legislation is part of a larger culture war playing out across the United States where communities want to limit access to gender-identity and graphic content. In Virginia, nearly 400 book titles were targeted for bans in state libraries in 2023, the most in the nation, according to the American Library Association. Nationally, 4,240 different titles were targeted last year compared to the previous record of 2,571 in 2022.
“The number of titles targeted for censorship surged 65 percent in 2023 compared to 2022, reaching the highest levels ever documented by the American Library Association (ALA),” the group said in a statement.
In California, LGBT advocates have been pushing lawmakers hard on the topic and say it’s important to have library books about marginalized groups available to the public.
The Jewish Public Affairs Committee of California is among the supporters expected to rally at the state Capitol in Sacramento on Monday in support of a bill that expands disclosure agreements for school districts that are implem …