I
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 863
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 7, 2023
Mr. Mills introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit a publishing house from knowingly furnishing sexually explicit material to a school or an educational agency, to prohibit Federal funds from being provided to a school that obtains or an educational agency that distributes sexually explicit material, and for other purposes.
Prohibition on knowingly furnishing sexually explicit material to a school or an educational agency
Prohibition on knowingly furnishing sexually explicit material to a school or an educational agency
Chapter 71 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
Furnishing of sexually explicit material to a school or an educational agency
Offenses
Publishing house
Whoever, in or affecting interstate commerce, being a publishing house, knowingly furnishes an elementary school, a secondary school, a local educational agency, or a State educational agency with published material containing a sexually explicit visual depiction of any kind, including a picture, photograph, or drawing, shall be subject to a fine of not more than $500,000.
President, director, manager, or officer of a publishing house
In general
Whoever, in or affecting interstate commerce, being a president, director, manager, or officer of a publishing house, knowingly authorizes the furnishing of published material in violation of paragraph (1) shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both.
Affirmative defense
It shall be an affirmative defense to a charge of violating subparagraph (A) if the defendant proves, by a preponderance of the evidence, that an individual at a higher management level knowingly authorized the furnishing of the published material involved.
Excepted material
The prohibitions in subsection (a) do not apply with respect to material with serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.
Definitions
In this section:
ESEA terms
The terms elementary school, local educational agency, secondary school, and State educational agency have the meanings given those terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
Published material
The term published material—
means any book, magazine, newspaper, or other printed material; and
includes digital or electronic books.
Publishing house
The term publishing house means a for-profit entity that manufactures, distributes, or sells published material.
.
Clerical amendment
The table of sections for chapter 71 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 1470 the following:
1471. Furnishing of sexually explicit material to a school or an educational agency.
.
Prohibition on Federal funds for school obtaining or educational agency distributing sexually explicit material
No Federal funds for school obtaining sexually explicit material
No Federal funds may be provided to an elementary school or a secondary school that knowingly obtains published material containing a sexually explicit visual depiction of any kind, including a picture, photograph, or drawing, until such time that the school relinquishes or destroys the published material.
No Federal funds for educational agency distributing sexually explicit material
No Federal funds may be provided to a local educational agency or a State educational agency that knowingly distributes to an elementary school or a secondary school published material containing a sexually explicit visual depiction of any kind, including a picture, photograph, or drawing, until such time that the educational agency instructs the school to which the educational agency distributed the published material to either relinquish or destroy the material.
Excepted material
The prohibitions in subsections (a) and (b) do not apply with respect to material with serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.
Definitions
In this section:
ESEA terms
The terms elementary school, local educational agency, secondary school, and State educational agency have the meanings given those terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
Published material
The term published material—
means any book, magazine, newspaper, or other printed material; and
includes digital or electronic books.
