H.R. 863 · 118th Congress · House

To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit a publishing house from knowingly furnishing sexually explicit material to a school or an educational agency, to prohibit Federal funds from being provided to a school that obtains or an educational agency that distributes sexually explicit material, and for other purposes.

Active· Referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently…
Introduced
Feb 7, 23
Passed House
Pending
Passed Senate
Pending
Sent to President
Pending
Signed into Law
Pending

Executive Summary

This bill establishes new criminal offenses related to furnishing sexually explicit material (i.e., books, magazines, newspapers, or other printed material and digital or electronic books) to elementary or secondary schools or state or local educational agencies. It also prohibits federal funds for schools that obtain or educational agencies that distribute such material.

Specifically, the bill makes it a crime for a president, director, manager, or officer of a publishing house to knowingly authorize the furnishing of published material containing a sexually explicit visual depiction to schools or educational agencies. A violator is subject to criminal penalties—a fine, a prison term of up to five years, or both.

The bill imposes a fine on a publishing house that knowingly furnishes such published material to schools or educational agencies.

The bill also prohibits federal funds from being provided to (1) schools that knowingly obtain such published material, and (2) educational agencies that knowingly distribute such material to schools.

The bill includes exceptions for material with serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.

Action Timeline

4
  1. FEB 07, 2023IntroReferral

    Introduced in House

  2. FEB 07, 2023IntroReferral

    Introduced in House

  3. FEB 07, 2023IntroReferral

    Referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

  4. FEB 07, 2023IntroReferral

    Referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Committees

2

Judiciary Committee

hsju00

Referred: Feb 7, 2023

Active

Education and Workforce Committee

hsed00

Referred: Feb 7, 2023

Active