Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

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68th Legislature 2023                                                                                                HB 234.1
                                                  HOUSE BILL NO. 234
    INTRODUCED BY B. PHALEN, J. SCHILLINGER, S. ESSMANN, B. MITCHELL, B. LER, G. OBLANDER, J.
                                                BERGSTROM, G. KMETZ
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  A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: “AN ACT REVISING LAWS REGARDING THE PUBLIC DISPLAY OR
  DISSEMINATION OF OBSCENE MATERIAL TO MINORS; REMOVING EXCEPTIONS FOR EMPLOYEES OF
  PUBLIC SCHOOLS; REMOVING EXCEPTIONS FOR OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES OF PUBLIC LIBRARIES
  AND MUSEUMS; AND AMENDING SECTION 45-8-206, MCA.”
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  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:
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           Section 1. Section 45-8-206, MCA, is amended to read:
           "45-8-206.   Public display or dissemination of obscene material to minors. (1) A person having
  custody, control, or supervision of any commercial establishment or newsstand may not knowingly or
  purposely:
           (a)     display obscene material to minors in such a way that minors, as a part of the invited public, will
  be able to view the material. However, a person is considered not to have displayed obscene material to minors
  if the material is kept behind devices commonly known as blinder racks so that the lower two-thirds of the
  material is not exposed to view or other reasonable efforts were made to prevent view of the material by a
  minor.
           (b)     sell, furnish, present, distribute, or otherwise disseminate to a minor or allow a minor to view,
  with or without consideration, any obscene material; or
           (c)     present to a minor or participate in presenting to a minor, with or without consideration, any
  performance that is obscene to minors.
           (2)     A person does not violate this section if:
           (a)     the person had reasonable cause to believe the minor was 18 years of age. "Reasonable
  cause" includes but is not limited to being shown a draft card, driver's license, marriage license, birth certificate,
  educational identification card, governmental identification card, tribal identification card, or other official or
                                                                 -1-                      Authorized Print Version – HB 234
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68th Legislature 2023                                                                                               HB 234.1
  apparently official card or document purporting to establish that the person is 18 years of age;
           (b)      the person is, or is acting as, an employee of a bona fide public school, college, or university or
  a retail outlet affiliated with and serving the educational purposes of a school, college, or university and the
  material or performance was disseminated in accordance with policies approved by the governing body of the
  institution;
           (c)   the person is an officer, director, trustee, or employee of a public library or museum and the
  material or performance was acquired by the library or museum and disseminated in accordance with policies
  approved by the governing body of the library or museum;
           (d)(c)   an exhibition in a state of nudity is for a bona fide scientific or medical purpose for a bona fide
  school, library, or museum; or
           (e)(d)   the person is a retail sales clerk with no financial interest in the material or performance or in
  the establishment displaying or selling the material or performance."
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                                                                -2-                      Authorized Print Version – HB 234
Statutes affected: 
HB0234_1.pdf: 45-8-206
HB0234_2.pdf: 45-8-206
HB0234_3.pdf: 45-8-206
Amended: 45-8-206
Introduced: 45-8-206