House Bill 1028 from Representative Andrew Collins proposes several changes related to libraries and the materials they provide. Key points include:

Repealing Certain Laws:

• The bill repeals Arkansas Code § 5-27-212, which criminalizes the act of "furnishing a harmful item to a minor." This law includes materials such as books, images, and performances that depict explicit content.
• It also repeals § 13-2-106, which required libraries to establish guidelines for selecting, relocating, and retaining materials.

Changes to Obscenity Laws:

• Updates to Arkansas's obscenity laws, including provisions for public libraries and schools. Specifically, employees and trustees of schools and libraries are protected from prosecution for disseminating materials considered obscene, as long as they are acting within the scope of their duties.

Library Material Review Policies:

• Changes the verbiage surrounding "relocating" library material to "removal" of the material.
• It repeals the state's mandated process for challenging materials. These processes include meetings with librarians, committee reviews, and appeals to governing bodies (such as school boards or city/county officials).

Policy on Book Banning:

• A new provision requires libraries to have a written policy prohibiting "book banning" (removal of materials due to partisan or doctrinal objections) in order to receive state funding.

Confidentiality of Library Records:

• The bill also repeals a provision requiring the disclosure of confidential library records, particularly in regard to disclosing information to parents or legal guardians of minors.

Overall, the bill seeks to remove many of the library-focused regulations put into place in the last legislative session.