AUSTIN, Texas — A federal judge's official order means the State of Texas can't enforce House Bill 900, or the "Reader Act."
The law would require third-party booksellers to determine whether books sold to schools are "sexually explicit" or "sexually relevant."
Supporters of the law say it's meant to help protect kids from encountering inappropriate content in school. But several book vendors sued over the law – including Austin's own BookPeople – saying it's too board and that booksellers aren't equipped to make those types of determinations.
"It could easily put our business out of business by having to spend the time – which is money – to rate these books," Valerie Koehler, owner of Blue Willow Bookshop in Houston, told KVUE in July. "This whole idea of 'not just explicit sexual content but sexual content,' or some sort of relevant content, we don't know it. You know, we don't know what's that supposed to mean? Is that two 15-year-olds kissing?"
In the reasoning for Monday night's temporary block of the law, the judge wrote that the State has "abdicated its responsibility" by asking third parties to rank books.
The State will almost certainly appeal the ruling.
Editor's note: In our commitment to transparency, KVUE is disclosing that the attorney for the plaintiffs in this case, Laura Prather, also represents KVUE in various legal matters unrelated to this case.