HB 1369 ended up dying in the Senate, with only 21 votes for what had become a last-minute omnibus bill with lots of seemingly unrelated provisions . . . the most high-profile of which was the “harmful material” language from the controversial SB 17, which, among other things, would have removed the school and library exemption from prosecution for obscene materials. There was considerable concern about vagueness and notice, levels of prosecutorial discretion, variable community standards, and questions about just who would have been subject to prosecution for alleged violations. * Behind the scenes, however, was a lingering concern by some senators who voted for it in the first round about having been misled by colleagues. As one majority caucus member told constituents after the initial vote, “I made the mistake of trusting some colleagues on all the content” . . . and also apologized to educators and librarians for “only listening to part of the conversation.” Some of those feelings may have played a part in the ultimate rejection of HB 1369, which almost certainly would have sailed through absent the callback to SB 17.
