Arizona Library Association Helps Defeat Filtering Bill

Staff -- Library Journal, 2/9/1998

Librarians in Arizona played a key role in helping defeat a bill in the state legislature that would have mandated Internet filters for "explicit sexual materials on any network-connected computer located in a public facility and available for use by a minor." HB2456 was defeated in the House Government Operations Committee by a vote of seven to four. Arizona Library Association (AzLA) Legislative Committee Chair Chris Cole of the Maricopa County Library District in Phoenix stressed that his committee "wanted to avoid having this issue split the library community" which would only "set back the cause of library service." Even though several libraries in the state have filtered workstations, AzLA was able to reach consensus on opposing the bill.