Bill > S3893

This bill prohibits book banning in public libraries and schools in New Jersey, and authorizes the withholding of state aid for non-compliance. Specifically, the bill amends existing law to allow the Department of the Treasury to withhold state library aid from any municipality, county, or area library that bans or restricts access to a book or other resource in its collection due to partisan or ideological reasons. The bill also requires public library governing bodies and school boards to adopt the American Library Association's Library Bill of Rights or a similar policy prohibiting book banning, and empowers the Commissioner of Education to withhold state aid from school districts that fail to comply.