HB385 Engrossed is a legislative bill that amends the Code of Alabama 1975 to address the distribution of obscene material or material harmful to minors, declaring the use of any premises for such distribution as a public nuisance. It allows legal action to be taken by the Attorney General, district attorney, or authorized county or municipal attorney to stop such activities. The bill updates the language and definitions in the code, such as changing "the purveyor" to "purveyors" and "premise" to "premises," and includes "sadomasochistic abuse" in the definition of "sexual conduct." It also specifies what constitutes material "harmful to minors" and makes technical revisions to the existing code language.

Additionally, the bill introduces new legal language that criminalizes the exposure of minors to sexually explicit material or behavior in K-12 public schools or public libraries, particularly without parental presence or consent. It modifies the legal exemptions for criminal provisions related to the distribution of material for educational purposes, deleting the exemption for public school libraries and introducing a conditional exemption for K-12 public schools and public libraries. These institutions must remove material or cease conduct that violates the division within seven business days of receiving a valid notice to avoid criminal penalties. The penalties increase with each violation, starting from a Class C misdemeanor to a Class A misdemeanor. The bill is set to become effective on October 1, 2024.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 6-5-160, 6-5-160, 13A-12-200, 13A-12-200, 6-5-160, 6-5-160, 13A-12-200, 13A-12-200
Engrossed: 6-5-160, 6-5-160, 13A-12-200, 13A-12-200