Stop House Bill 3225

(Update as of April 25, 2025)- the identical Senate Companion Bill 2101 for HB 3225, is scheduled for a committee hearing in Austin on Monday, April 28, 2025 at 9am. Info and calls to action can be found here. 

By Frank Strong- originally published on Frank's Substack: Anger & Clarity. 

House Bill 3225 will be heard in the Texas House of Representatives State Affairs Committee at 8:00 a.m next Monday, April 14. This is a screaming red alarm for people who care about books, about the freedom to read, or about libraries.

Send an email to oppose HB 3225 now!

What does the bill do?

First, it forbids municipal public libraries from allowing anyone under 18 to access “sexually explicit” materials (the quotation marks are important).

It also says a public library may not “curate, display, or make available for checkout any sexually explicit material in any minor ’s section of the library.”

The bill also uses an exceptionally broad definition of “sexually explicit.” Whereas other laws passed or proposed in Texas, like 2023’s HB900, have required passages to be “patently offensive” in order to be defined as sexually explicit, under HB3225, books merely need to include an image or language that “describes, depicts, or portrays sexual conduct, as defined by Section 43.25, Penal Code.”(1)

That means two things: First, that libraries would have to restrict anyone under 18 to children’s/teen/YA sections—they could not be allowed into the library’s sections for the general (adult) public, where they might encounter “sexually explicit” books.(2) Second, it would restrict the books that can be made available in those children’s/teen/YA sections. No sex-ed books, no descriptions of “sexual contact” in YA novels meant for older teens. Art books would be at risk, as would innocent books like Eric Carle’s Draw Me a Star and Maurice Sendak’s In the Night Kitchen.

What’s wrong with that?

Well, have you been to a library lately? Yes, most large libraries have designated children’s and teen sections, but people under 18 aren’t limited to them. Which is as it should be! My daughter is 14, and while she likes a good YA novel now and then, she would be bored out of her mind if she were only allowed to read books written for young people. And sometimes she needs to venture into the adult sections to do research for a school project or to access reference materials.

Think about the implications. Under HB3225, if a 16-year-old needs to check out The Great Gatsby for her English class, tough luck for her— that book’s in the “adult” section. A 17-year-old stops by the library to check out a Stephen King novel on his way home from work? Not allowed.

It gets worse, though. Small and rural libraries often don’t have the space or ability to completely separate their “adult” and “minor” sections. In Idaho, where similar statutes have been enacted, at least one library has completely barred anyone under 18 from its premises.

Is that what we want? Libraries that are off-limits to children?

What can we do?

This bill already has 49 co-authors in the House. If it passes the House, it is likely to pass the more conservative Senate. So we need to be loud and fight this bill early. That means bombarding the members of the House State Affairs Committee with calls and emails—like now.

We’ll also need a presence at the Capitol on Monday, April 14 at 8AM. We need volunteers to testify and tell their stories about what libraries mean to their children, so that we can show committee members how destructive this bill would be to our communities. And we need you to spread the word about this bad, dangerous, dumb bill. Pease wear BLUE for BOOKS! (or your favorite freedom to read loving apparel!)

Click here to provide written public testimony, remotely, ahead of the committee meeting. Be sure to select HB3225. Public testimony can also be submitted in-person on the day of the meeting if you plan to attend the meeting. Find instructions for registering to provide in-person verbal, testimony here. 

Finally, feel free to let us know what action you plan to take, and allow us to keep in touch with you leading up to the meeting, by completing this volunteer form. 

CLICK HERE TO SEND AN EMAIL TO OPPOSE HB 3225

Here's a sample script you can use when contacting the Texas House State Affairs Committee Members or your representatives- be sure to personalize it for your individual use! 

"Hi, my name is {first name}. I am calling to ask Representative {insert name} to oppose HB3225 that will be heard by the State Affairs Committee on Monday. For years, we have been told that books being removed from public school libraries and classrooms, are not book bans, because parents and students can find those books at their local public library. Now, this bill is proposing to restrict our kids' access to books in our local public libraries, too. As the bill is written, there is not even an option for parents to opt out of the restricted access for their own children. Parents- not the government- should determine what books are and are not appropriate for their own children to read. Please protect Texas parent's rights, and vote "no" on HB3225."