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The Oregon House of Representatives passed Senate Bill 1098 on Monday morning by a 34–21 vote.
The bill prohibits the removal of books from school libraries based solely on their depiction of protected classes such as race, gender and sexual orientation. Additionally, it bars removal of books on the basis of their authors belonging to a protected class. It already passed the state Senate in late March, and now heads to Gov. Tina Kotek for her signature.
Rep. Travis Nelson (D-Portland), a chief sponsor of the bill, urged his colleagues to prevent the erasure of diverse voices during discussion on the House floor.
“This is a bill that is celebrating the freedom to read,” Nelson said. “Not telling young people, students, scholars, or anyone else what it is they should read and what experiences they should understand.”
The vote passed along party lines, with the exception of Rep. Cyrus Javadi (R-Tillamook), who championed a culture of acceptance in classrooms.
“Let’s not flatten our libraries out of fear, let’s not confuse discomfort with danger, and let’s not teach our kids that their stories are too controversial to belong on the shelf,” Javadi said.
House Democrats emphasized that SB 1098 does not mandate what materials are presented in libraries, nor does it prohibit removal based on age appropriateness.
On the other side of the aisle, Republicans expressed concern that SB 1098 would make removing objectionable books more difficult and would disempower parents in the removal process.
“Preventing books that promote radical ideologies with regard to gender and sexuality from getting into the hands of minor children is an obligation, not an option,” said Rep. Boomer Wright (R-Coos Bay).
Sen. Lew Frederick (D-Portland) said Democrats made a strong case for the bill in the House and Senate.
“School boards will not have to spend so much time trying to deal with people who want to ban books because of discriminatory practices,” he said. “[Now] they have a process and a basic set of discussions they have to have before they decide to try to ban a book.”
Roxy Mayer, a spokeswoman for the governor, did not indicate what position Kotek would take on the bill, though she said Kotek rarely vetoes her own party’s legislation. “The governor reviews all bills that are sent to her desk for signature,” Mayer said in a statement to WW.