CSSSHB 487(L&C): "An Act relating to the sale or display for sale of material harmful to minors at places where minors are present or allowed to be present."
00CS FOR SPONSOR SUBSTITUTE FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 487(L&C) 01 "An Act relating to the sale or display for sale of material harmful to minors 02 at places where minors are present or allowed to be present." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. FINDINGS AND INTENT. (a) The legislature finds as a matter of public 05 policy and fact that the state has a compelling interest in protecting the health, welfare, and 06 morals of minors; that the exposure of minors to inappropriate sexual material is deleterious 07 to their health, welfare, and morals; that minors are exposed, in commercial establishments, 08 to materials that are obscene even for adults; that minors are exposed, in commercial 09 establishments, to sexual materials that are not obscene for adults but nonetheless are harmful 10 to minors; that the exposure of minors to harmful sexual material in commercial 11 establishments is of a particularly serious nature; and that in many parts of the state the 12 commercial exposure of minors to harmful sexual materials is increasing. 13 (b) The legislature intends for this Act to limit exposure of minors to obscene 14 materials and other sexual materials that are harmful to minors.
01 * Sec. 2. AS 11.61 is amended by adding a new section to read: 02 Sec. 11.61.127. SALE OR DISPLAY FOR SALE OF MATERIAL HARMFUL 03 TO MINORS. (a) A person commits the crime of sale or display for sale of material 04 harmful to minors if the person knowingly 05 (1) sells material harmful to minors to a person under the age of 18; 06 or 07 (2) displays for sale material harmful to minors, including the covers 08 and packaging of the material, in a place where minors are present or are allowed to 09 be present and where minors are able to view such material unless each item of the 10 material is 11 (A) sealed in an opaque wrapper; or 12 (B) kept behind devices commonly known as blinder racks so 13 that the material is not exposed to view. 14 (b) For material other than books, magazines, newspapers, pamphlets, or other 15 similar material, the requirements of (a)(2) of this section are satisfied if the portions 16 of the covers or packaging of the material that visually depict material harmful to 17 minors are blocked by a blinder rack or with an opaque wrapper and the wrapper is 18 sealed. 19 (c) In a prosecution under (a)(1) of this section, it is an affirmative defense 20 that the defendant made a reasonable bona fide attempt to ascertain the true age of the 21 person under the age of 18 before selling the material to the person. In this 22 subsection, "reasonable bona fide attempt" means an attempt to ascertain the true age 23 of the person to whom the material is sold by requiring production of a driver's 24 license, identification card, marriage license, birth certificate, or other governmental 25 or educational identification card or paper and not relying solely on the oral statements 26 or apparent age of the person. 27 (d) In this section, 28 (1) "harmful to minors" means any description or representation, in 29 whatever form, of nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, or sado-masochistic abuse 30 when the material, taken as a whole, has the following characteristics: (A) the average 31 adult person applying contemporary community standards would find that the material
01 has a predominant tendency to appeal to a prurient interest in sex to minors, (B) the 02 average adult person applying contemporary community standards would find that the 03 material depicts or describes nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, or sado-masochistic abuse in a manner that 04 is patently offensive to prevailing standards in the 05 adult community with respect to what is suitable for minors, and (C) the material lacks 06 serious literary, scientific, educational, artistic, or political value for minors; in this 07 paragraph, "contemporary community standards" mean contemporary standards 08 prevailing in the state as a whole; 09 (2) "material" means a book, magazine, newspaper, pamphlet, poster, 10 print, picture, figure, image, description, motion picture film, record, compact disc, 11 recording tape, or video tape; 12 (3) "nudity" means the showing of the human male or female genitals, 13 pubic area, or buttocks with less than a full opaque covering; the showing of the 14 female breast with less than a full opaque covering of a portion of the breast below 15 the top of the nipple; or the depiction of covered male genitals in a discernibly turgid 16 state; 17 (4) "sado-masochistic abuse" means flagellation or torture by or upon 18 a person clad in undergarments or bizarre costumes, or the condition of being fettered, 19 bound or otherwise physically restrained on the part of one so clothed; 20 (5) "sexual conduct" means acts of masturbation, homosexuality, sexual 21 intercourse, or physical contact with a person's clothed or unclothed genitals, pubic 22 area, buttocks, or, if the person is a female, breast; 23 (6) "sexual excitement" means the condition of human male or female 24 genitals when in a state of sexual stimulation or arousal. 25 (e) Except as provided in (f) of this section, sale or display for sale of material 26 harmful to minors is a class B misdemeanor. 27 (f) A person convicted under this section is guilty of a class A misdemeanor 28 if the person has previously been convicted of a violation of this section.