HB385 Engrossed is a bill that amends the Code of Alabama 1975, focusing on the distribution of obscene material and the definition of "sexual conduct" as it pertains to minors. The bill designates the use of any premises for distributing such material as a public nuisance and empowers legal authorities to take action against it. It includes changes to the language of the law, such as updating the terms "purveyor" to "purveyors" and "premise" to "premises," and revises the definition of "sexual conduct" to encompass "sadomasochistic abuse." The bill also specifies what constitutes material "harmful to minors" by detailing its appeal to the prurient interest of minors, its offensiveness by adult standards, and its lack of serious value for minors. Technical revisions are made for consistency and style, such as changing "State of Alabama" to "state."

The bill introduces new legal language that criminalizes certain sexual or gender-oriented conduct in K-12 public schools or public libraries, particularly when it involves sexually explicit clothing, costumes, stripping, or lewd dancing where minors are present without parental consent. It also modifies the exemptions for public libraries and schools from criminal provisions, stating that these institutions will lose their exemption if they do not remove offending material or stop the conduct within seven business days of receiving a valid notice. The bill outlines a process for reporting violations and enforces penalties ranging from a Class C misdemeanor to Class A for repeated offenses. The act is scheduled to take effect 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