| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to Internet screening in public libraries; |
| 3 | creating s. 257.44, F.S.; defining terms; requiring public |
| 4 | libraries to provide technology that protects against |
| 5 | Internet access to specified proscribed visual depictions; |
| 6 | allowing adults to request disablement of the technology |
| 7 | for specified purposes; prohibiting a public library from |
| 8 | maintaining a record of adults who request such |
| 9 | disablement; requiring a public library to post notice of |
| 10 | its Internet safety policy; providing for the assessment |
| 11 | of a fine and attorney's fees and costs in connection with |
| 12 | a violation by a public library; directing the Division of |
| 13 | Library and Information Services within the Department of |
| 14 | State to adopt rules requiring a written attestation of |
| 15 | compliance as a condition of state funding; providing that |
| 16 | no cause of action arises for a violation by a public |
| 17 | library except as provided; providing a finding of |
| 18 | important state interest; providing an effective date. |
| 19 |
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| 20 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 21 |
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| 22 | Section 1. Section 257.44, Florida Statutes, is created to |
| 23 | read: |
| 24 | 257.44 Internet screening in public libraries.-- |
| 25 | (1) As used in this section, the term: |
| 26 | (a) "Administrative unit" means the entity designated by a |
| 27 | local government body as responsible for the administration of |
| 28 | all public library locations established or maintained by that |
| 29 | local government body. |
| 30 | (b) "Child pornography" has the same meaning as in s. |
| 31 | 847.001. |
| 32 | (c) "Harmful to minors" means any picture, image, graphic |
| 33 | image file, or other visual depiction that: |
| 34 | 1. Taken as a whole and with respect to minors, appeals to |
| 35 | a prurient interest in nudity, sex, or excretion. |
| 36 | 2. Depicts, describes, or represents, in a patently |
| 37 | offensive way with respect to what is suitable for minors, an |
| 38 | actual or simulated sexual act or sexual contact, an actual or |
| 39 | simulated normal or perverted sexual act, or a lewd exhibition |
| 40 | of the genitals. |
| 41 | 3. Taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, |
| 42 | political, or scientific value as to minors. |
| 43 | (d) "Minor" means an individual under 18 years of age. |
| 44 | (e) "Obscene" has the same meaning as in s. 847.001. |
| 45 | (f) "Public computer" means a computer that is made |
| 46 | available to the public and that has Internet access. |
| 47 | (g) "Public library" means any library that is open to the |
| 48 | public and that is established or maintained by one or more of |
| 49 | the following local government bodies in this state: county; |
| 50 | municipality; consolidated city-county government; special |
| 51 | district; or special tax district. The term does not include a |
| 52 | library that is open to the public and that is established or |
| 53 | maintained by a community college or state university. |
| 54 | (h) "Reasonable efforts" means the public library, in |
| 55 | implementing the policy required by subsection (2), in its |
| 56 | ordinary course of business: |
| 57 | 1. Posts its Internet safety policy. |
| 58 | 2. Uses a technology protection measure on all public |
| 59 | computers. |
| 60 | 3. Disables the technology protection measure upon an |
| 61 | adult's request to use the computer for bona fide research or |
| 62 | other lawful purpose. |
| 63 | (i) "Technology protection measure" means software or |
| 64 | equivalent technology that blocks or filters Internet access to |
| 65 | the visual depictions that are proscribed under subsection (2). |
| 66 | (2)(a) Each public library shall enforce an Internet |
| 67 | safety policy that provides for: |
| 68 | 1. Installation and operation of a technology protection |
| 69 | measure on all public computers in the public library which |
| 70 | protects against access through such computers by adults to |
| 71 | visual depictions that are obscene or constitute child |
| 72 | pornography and by minors to visual depictions that are obscene, |
| 73 | constitute child pornography, or are harmful to minors. |
| 74 | 2. Disablement of the technology protection measure by an |
| 75 | employee of the public library upon an adult's request to use |
| 76 | the computer for bona fide research or other lawful purpose. |
| 77 | (b) Each public library shall post a notice in a |
| 78 | conspicuous area of the public library which indicates that an |
| 79 | Internet safety policy has been adopted and informs the public |
| 80 | that the Internet safety policy is available for review at each |
| 81 | public library. |
| 82 | (c) A public library may not maintain a record of names of |
| 83 | adults who request that the technology protection measure be |
| 84 | disabled under this subsection. |
| 85 | (3) If a public library knowingly fails to make reasonable |
| 86 | efforts to comply with subsection (2), a resident of this state |
| 87 | may seek enforcement as provided in this subsection. |
| 88 | (a) Before instituting a civil action under paragraph (b), |
| 89 | the resident shall, within 45 days after a public library's |
| 90 | alleged failure to make such reasonable efforts, mail a written |
| 91 | notice of intended civil action for enforcement to the head of |
| 92 | the applicable administrative unit. The notice must identify |
| 93 | each public library location involved and specify the facts and |
| 94 | circumstances alleged to constitute a violation of subsection |
| 95 | (2). Within 45 days after the receipt of such notice, the head |
| 96 | of the administrative unit shall mail a written response to the |
| 97 | resident who provided the notice. The written response must |
| 98 | specify the efforts, if any, which each public library location |
| 99 | identified in the notice is making to comply with the |
| 100 | requirements of subsection (2). All mailings required by this |
| 101 | paragraph shall be certified with return receipt requested. |
| 102 | (b) If the resident does not receive the written response |
| 103 | required in paragraph (a) within 60 days after receipt of the |
| 104 | notice by the head of the administrative unit, or if the written |
| 105 | response fails to indicate that the public library is making |
| 106 | reasonable efforts to comply with subsection (2), the resident |
| 107 | may institute a civil action in the circuit court of the county |
| 108 | in which the administrative unit is located to seek injunctive |
| 109 | relief to enforce compliance with subsection (2). |
| 110 | (c) In connection with an enforcement action under |
| 111 | paragraph (b), the court shall: |
| 112 | 1. Impose a civil fine upon the administrative unit in the |
| 113 | amount of $100 per day per public library location that is found |
| 114 | to have not made reasonable efforts to comply with subsection |
| 115 | (2). Accrual of the fine shall be for the period between the |
| 116 | date that the head of the administrative unit received the |
| 117 | notice of intended civil action for enforcement and the date |
| 118 | upon which the public library location begins making reasonable |
| 119 | efforts to comply with subsection (2). |
| 120 | 2. Order an administrative unit that is fined pursuant to |
| 121 | subparagraph 1. to pay reasonable attorney's fees and costs to a |
| 122 | prevailing resident. If the court finds that the filing of the |
| 123 | action was in bad faith or frivolous, it shall order the |
| 124 | resident who filed the action to pay reasonable attorney's fees |
| 125 | and costs to the administrative unit. |
| 126 | (d) The clerk of the circuit court shall act as the |
| 127 | depository for all civil fines paid pursuant to this subsection. |
| 128 | The clerk may retain a service charge of $1 for each payment and |
| 129 | shall, on a monthly basis, transfer the moneys collected for |
| 130 | such fines to the Department of Revenue for deposit in the |
| 131 | Records Management Trust Fund within the Department of State. |
| 132 | (4) The Division of Library and Information Services |
| 133 | within the Department of State shall adopt rules pursuant to ss. |
| 134 | 120.536(1) and 120.54 which require the head of each |
| 135 | administrative unit to annually attest in writing, under penalty |
| 136 | of perjury, that all public library locations for which the |
| 137 | administrative unit is responsible are in compliance with |
| 138 | subsection (2), as a condition of the receipt of any state funds |
| 139 | distributed under chapter 257. |
| 140 | (5) No cause of action, except as authorized in subsection |
| 141 | (3), shall arise in favor of any person due to a public |
| 142 | library's failure to comply with subsection (2). |
| 143 | Section 2. In accordance with s. 18, Art. VII of the State |
| 144 | Constitution, the Legislature finds that the installation and |
| 145 | operation by public libraries of technology protection measures |
| 146 | that protect against access by adults to visual depictions that |
| 147 | are obscene or constitute child pornography and by minors to |
| 148 | visual depictions that are obscene, constitute child |
| 149 | pornography, or are harmful to minors fulfills an important |
| 150 | state interest. |
| 151 | Section 3. This act shall take effect October 1, 2005. |