Amendment H-8260 to SF 2432

Filed March 24, 2026 in the House by

In plain words

AI summary This amendment adds new rules for city library oversight, including requirements for libraries to enforce age-appropriate material policies and allow parents to monitor their children's borrowing activity. It also states that libraries may lose public funding if they fail to follow these age-appropriate policies. Additionally, the amendment gives city councils full administrative and financial authority over city libraries and the power to create or dissolve advisory library boards.¹

What it changes

1. Page 1, before line 1 by inserting: “DIVISION I CITY BOARDS OF HEALTH —— CITY HEALTH DEPARTMENTS”
2. Page 2, after line 16 by inserting: “DIVISION ___ CITY LIBRARY OVERSIGHT Sec. ___. Section 8A.209, subsection 4, Code 2026, is amended by adding the following new paragraph: NEW PARAGRAPH . d. Enforces age-appropriate policies that prohibit minors from accessing materials deemed inappropriate for minors and allow parents access to monitor their child’s borrowing activity. Each eligible library shall submit to the department an annual report providing proof of age-appropriate policies as prescribed by the department. For purposes of this paragraph, “age-appropriate” means topics and messages suitable to particular ages based on developing cognitive, emotional, and behavioral capacity typical for the age. “Age-appropriate” does not include any material with descriptions or visual depictions of a sex act as defined in section 702.17. Sec. ___. NEW SECTION . 8A.212 State library —— standards and accreditation program. The state library shall provide performance measures to encourage the ongoing development of high-quality public library service in the state. The state library shall use the most recent edition of “In Service to Iowa: Public Library Measures of Quality” as the manual for the state library’s standards program. The use of such manual for the program does not include standards relating to American library association standards or Iowa library association standards. The state library’s standards and accreditation program shall not require libraries to adhere to American library association principles. Iowa’s voluntary public library standards program is established to give public libraries a tool to identify strengths for improvement. The program shall be used to document the condition of public library service in Iowa, to distribute direct state aid funding, and to meet statutory requirements. Program information shall be available on the state library’s official internet site. Sec. ___. Section 8A.222, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows: 8A.222 Local financial support.
3. Commencing July 1, 1977, each city within its corporate boundaries and each county within the unincorporated area of the county shall levy a tax of at least six and three-fourths cents per thousand dollars of assessed value on the taxable property or at least the monetary equivalent thereof when all or a portion of the funds are obtained from a source other than taxation, for the purpose of providing financial support to the public library which that provides library services within the respective jurisdictions.
4. A library shall not receive moneys collected under this section if the library is in violation of the age-appropriate policies described in section 8A.209. Sec. ___. Section 22.7, subsection 13, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
5. a. The Except as otherwise provided in paragraphs “b” and “c” , records of a library which that , by themselves or when examined with other public records, would reveal the identity of the library patron checking out or requesting an item or information from the library. b. The records shall be released to a criminal or juvenile justice agency only pursuant to an investigation of a particular person or organization suspected of committing a known crime. The records shall be released only upon a judicial determination that a rational connection exists between the requested release of information and a legitimate end and that the need for the information is cogent and compelling. c. The records shall be released to the parent or guardian of a library patron who is a minor child upon the request of the parent or guardian. Sec. ___. Section 336.10, Code 2026, is amended by adding the following new subsection: NEW SUBSECTION .
6. A library shall not receive moneys from this fund if the library is in violation of the age-appropriate policies described in section 8A.209. Sec. ___. NEW SECTION . 336.20 Age-appropriate material.
7. a. The board of library trustees shall adopt and enforce age-appropriate policies for the library, as described in section 8A.209. Such policies shall apply to any mobile and temporary services, events, and retailers on library property. Any violations of a policy that are not remedied within thirty days shall constitute a violation of law and may be referred to the county attorney. A library that is in violation of age-appropriate policies and requirements is not eligible to receive public funds. b. If a library enters an agreement pursuant to chapter 28E for the purpose of providing library services to a school, such agreement shall provide that the age-appropriate policies of the school will be enforced. Parental permissions granted to a minor for the library, pursuant to subsection 2, shall not apply to the student during school use of the library.
8. The library board shall review all library materials to determine if the materials are age-appropriate, as defined in section 8A.209, subsection 4, paragraph “d” . Material deemed inappropriate for minors shall not be accessible to minors unless parental approval has been given for each specific item.
9. The board shall establish a procedure for a citizen residing in the library’s service area to challenge the board’s determination that an item is age-appropriate. If a hearing is held, the board must allow three minutes of public comment for each person wishing to speak and up to thirty minutes total of public comment. Sec. ___. NEW SECTION . 336.21 Transparency —— publication of library information.
10. The board of library trustees shall publish all of the following information related to the board’s oversight of the library on the library’s internet site: a. A detailed explanation of the procedures or policies in effect for the parent or guardian of a library patron who is a minor to request the removal of material that is available to the patron in the library. Each library shall prominently display the detailed explanation on the library’s internet site. b. A detailed explanation of the procedures or policies in effect to request the review of decisions made by the board of trustees of the library, including the appeal process established pursuant to section 336.22.
11. The board of library trustees shall adopt a policy describing the procedures for the parent or guardian of a library patron who is a minor or a citizen residing in the library’s service area to review the age-appropriate materials available in the library. The policy shall include a process for a minor’s parent or guardian to request that the minor not have access to certain materials. The policy shall be prominently displayed on the library’s internet site and the board of library trustees shall, at least annually, provide a written or electronic copy of the policy to the parent or guardian of each library patron who is a minor.
12. The identity of a parent or guardian who requests the removal of material that is available to library patrons who are minors pursuant to subsection 1, paragraph “a” , shall be confidential and shall not be a public record subject to disclosure under chapter
14. This section shall not be construed to require the board of library trustees to distribute any materials in a manner that would infringe on the intellectual property rights of any person. Sec. ___. NEW SECTION . 336.22 Appeal —— governing body meeting agenda —— public comment.
15. Upon appeal of a decision of the board of trustees of the library filed with the governing body, the governing body shall place the library board decision specified in the appeal on the agenda of the next regular meeting of the governing body or on the agenda of the governing body meeting held within thirty days of receipt of the appeal filed in accordance with this subsection. If the decision relates to age-appropriate material, the governing body may halt access to the subject materials until the governing body holds the meeting at which the decision is presented and discussed. The meeting notice shall include a brief description of the decision.
16. The governing body shall provide sufficient time to receive public comment on the decision. The governing body shall allow each interested member of the public to speak at the meeting regarding the decision, but may impose a time limit on the amount of time a member of the public is allowed to speak if the time limit is the same for each speaker and necessary due to the amount of people wishing to speak. Sec. ___. NEW SECTION . 395.1 City libraries —— oversight by city council.
17. The city council has all administrative, financial, oversight, and policy authority of any city library under the city’s jurisdiction.
18. The city shall enter an agreement pursuant to chapter 28E with any friends of the library group or similar nonprofit organization existing in the city. The purpose of the agreement is to assist the library in ensuring enforcement of policies of the library.
19. The city council may appoint a library director. A candidate for library director shall submit an application. A candidate’s application shall be a public record. A public hearing shall be held on the potential hiring before the city council votes to appoint a library director. Sec. ___. NEW SECTION . 395.2 City library board.
20. The city council may create an advisory library board of trustees or dissolve an existing library board of trustees with a two-thirds vote of the city council. Any existing library board shall be reconstituted or redesigned as an advisory board, serving solely in an advisory capacity to the city council, until the city council votes to amend the makeup or dissolve the board.
21. The library board of trustees shall be appointed by the city council. Appointees shall submit applications as prescribed by the city council. A candidate’s application shall be a public record. A public hearing on the potential appointment shall take place before the city council may vote to confirm the appointment. A library board shall comply with section 4A.12.
22. Library boards shall serve an advisory role to the city council to provide recommendations on library services, programs, budgeting priorities, and long-range planning, and may submit reports to the city council as requested. Sec. ___. NEW SECTION . 395.3 Age-appropriate material.
23. a. The city council shall adopt and enforce age-appropriate policies for the library, as described in section 8A.209. Such policies shall apply to any mobile and temporary services, events, and retailers on library property. Any violations of a policy that are not remedied within thirty days shall constitute a violation of law and may be referred to the county attorney. A city library that is in violation of age-appropriate policies and requirements is not eligible to receive public funds. b. If a library enters an agreement pursuant to chapter 28E for the purpose of providing library services to a school, such agreement shall provide that the age-appropriate policies of the school will be enforced. Parental permissions granted to a minor for the library, pursuant to subsection 2, shall not apply to the student during school use of the library.
24. The library board shall review all library materials to determine if the materials are age-appropriate, as defined in section 8A.209, subsection 4, paragraph “d” . Material deemed inappropriate for minors shall not be accessible to minors unless parental approval has been given for each specific item.
25. The board shall establish a procedure for a citizen residing in the library’s service area to challenge the board’s determination that an item is age-appropriate. If a hearing is held, the board must allow three minutes of public comment for each person wishing to speak and up to thirty minutes total of public comment. Sec. ___. NEW SECTION . 395.4 Transparency —— publication of city library information.
26. The city council shall publish all of the following information related to the council’s oversight of the library on the library’s internet site: a. A detailed explanation of the procedures or policies in effect for the parent or guardian of a library patron who is a minor to request the removal of material that is available to the patron in the library. Each library shall prominently display the detailed explanation on the library’s internet site. b. A detailed explanation of the procedures or policies in effect to request the review of decisions made by the board of trustees of the library, including the appeal process established pursuant to section 395.5.
27. The city council shall adopt a policy describing the procedures for the parent or guardian of a library patron who is a minor or a citizen residing in the library’s service area to review the age-appropriate materials available in the library. The policy shall include a process for a minor’s parent or guardian to request that the minor not have access to certain materials. The policy shall be prominently displayed on the library’s internet site and the city council shall, at least annually, provide a written or electronic copy of the policy to the parent or guardian of each library patron who is a minor.
28. The identity of a parent or guardian who requests the removal of material that is available to library patrons who are minors pursuant to subsection 1, paragraph “a” , shall be confidential and shall not be a public record subject to disclosure under chapter
30. This section shall not be construed to require the city council to distribute any materials in a manner that would infringe on the intellectual property rights of any person. Sec. ___. NEW SECTION . 395.5 Appeal —— city council meeting agenda —— public comment.
31. Upon appeal of a decision of the board of trustees of the library filed with the city council, the city council shall place the library board decision specified in the appeal on the agenda of the next regular meeting of the city council or on the agenda of the city council meeting held within thirty days of receipt of the appeal filed in accordance with this subsection. If the decision relates to age-appropriate material, the city council may halt access to the subject materials until the city council holds the council meeting at which the decision is presented and discussed. The meeting notice shall include a brief description of the decision.
32. The city council shall provide sufficient time to receive public comment on the decision. The council shall allow each interested member of the public to speak at the meeting regarding the decision, but may impose a time limit on the amount of time a member of the public is allowed to speak if the time limit is the same for each speaker and necessary due to the amount of people wishing to speak. Sec. ___. REPEAL. Section 392.5, Code 2026, is repealed.”
33. Page 2, before line 17 by inserting: “DIVISION ___ EFFECTIVE DATE”
34. Title page, by striking lines 1 through 3 and inserting “An Act relating to city governance, including the elimination of a city’s ability to create a city board of health or city health department, and city library oversight, and including effective date provisions.”
35. By renumbering as necessary.

Official amendment (PDF) · In the Bill Book