The bill amends Chapter 11-9 of the General Laws by adding a new section titled "Prohibition of obscene material," which establishes regulations against the production, distribution, and possession of visual depictions that involve minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct. It defines key terms such as "minor," "sexually explicit conduct," and "visual depiction."

The bill outlines specific violations, including knowingly producing, distributing, receiving, or possessing with intent to distribute visual depictions that depict a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct and are obscene and lack serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value. It also prohibits knowingly making available to or distributing to a minor any obscene, lewd, lascivious, or sexually explicit materials that lack serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.

Provisions for affirmative defenses are included, allowing a defendant to assert that they possessed less than three such visual depictions and took reasonable steps to destroy them or reported the matter to law enforcement.

Penalties for violations vary based on the nature of the offense: violators of subsection (b)(1) may face fines up to $5,000 and imprisonment for up to 15 years; violators of subsection (b)(2) may face fines up to $5,000 and imprisonment for up to 5 years; and violators of subsection (b)(3) may face fines up to $1,000 and imprisonment for up to 2 years.

The bill also states that it is not a required element of any offense under this section that the minor depicted actually exists. Additionally, it includes a severability clause, ensuring that if any provision is held invalid, the remaining provisions can still be enforced. This act is set to take effect immediately upon passage.