CSSSHB 487(JUD): "An Act relating to the sale, rental, or display for sale or rental 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(JUD) 01 "An Act relating to the sale, rental, or display for sale or rental of material 02 harmful to minors 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. The legislature also 13 finds that it is both desirable and possible to limit the exposure of minors to material harmful 14 to minors while not unreasonably interfering with normal trade and commerce in Alaska.
01 (b) The legislature intends for this Act to limit exposure of minors to explicit materials 02 that are harmful to minors. The legislature further intends that the definition of material 03 harmful to minors be narrowly construed so that it is not applied to materials in general 04 circulation that contain only relatively brief passages or incidental depictions or descriptions 05 of material harmful to minors. The legislature intends that the phrase "taken as a whole" in 06 the definition of material "harmful to minors" be applied in a broad sense, so as not to unduly 07 restrict access to material that has serious literary, scientific, educational, artistic, or political 08 value. 09 * Sec. 2. AS 11.61 is amended by adding a new section to read: 10 Sec. 11.61.127. SALE, RENTAL, OR DISPLAY FOR SALE OR RENTAL 11 OF MATERIAL HARMFUL TO MINORS. (a) A person commits the crime of sale, 12 rental, or display for sale or rental of material harmful to minors if the person 13 knowingly 14 (1) sells or rents material harmful to minors to a person under the age 15 of 18; or 16 (2) displays for sale or rental material harmful to minors, including the 17 covers and packaging of the material, in a place where minors are present or are 18 allowed to be present and where minors are able to view such material unless each 19 item of the material is 20 (A) sealed in an opaque wrapper; or 21 (B) kept behind devices commonly known as blinder racks so 22 that the material is not exposed to view. 23 (b) For material other than books, magazines, newspapers, pamphlets, or other 24 similar material, the requirements of (a)(2) of this section are satisfied if the portions 25 of the covers or packaging of the material that visually depict material harmful to 26 minors are blocked by a blinder rack or with an opaque wrapper and the wrapper is 27 sealed. 28 (c) In a prosecution under (a)(1) of this section, it is an affirmative defense 29 that the defendant made a reasonable bona fide attempt to ascertain the true age of the 30 person under the age of 18 before selling the material to the person. In this 31 subsection, "reasonable bona fide attempt" means an attempt to ascertain the true age
01 of the person to whom the material is sold by requiring production of a driver's 02 license, identification card, marriage license, birth certificate, or other governmental 03 or educational identification card or paper and not relying solely on the oral statements 04 or apparent age of the person. 05 (d) In this section, 06 (1) "harmful to minors" means any description or representation, in 07 whatever form, of nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, or sado-masochistic abuse 08 when the material, taken as a whole, has the following characteristics: (A) the average 09 adult person applying contemporary community standards would find that the material 10 has a predominant tendency to appeal to a prurient interest in sex to minors, (B) the 11 average adult person applying contemporary community standards would find that the 12 material depicts or describes nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, or sado-masochistic abuse in a manner that 13 is patently offensive to prevailing standards in the 14 adult community with respect to what is suitable for minors, and (C) the material lacks 15 serious literary, scientific, educational, artistic, or political value for minors; in this 16 paragraph, "contemporary community standards" mean contemporary standards 17 prevailing in the state as a whole; 18 (2) "material" means a book, magazine, newspaper, pamphlet, poster, 19 print, picture, figure, image, description, motion picture film, record, compact disc, 20 recording tape, or video tape; 21 (3) "nudity" means the showing of the human male or female genitals, 22 pubic area, or buttocks with less than a full opaque covering; the showing of the 23 female breast with less than a full opaque covering of a portion of the breast below 24 the top of the nipple; or the depiction of covered male genitals in a discernibly turgid 25 state; 26 (4) "sado-masochistic abuse" means flagellation or torture by or upon 27 a person clad in undergarments or bizarre costumes, or the condition of being fettered, 28 bound or otherwise physically restrained on the part of one so clothed; 29 (5) "sexual conduct" means acts of masturbation, homosexuality, sexual 30 intercourse, or physical contact with a person's clothed or unclothed genitals, pubic 31 area, buttocks, or, if the person is a female, breast;
01 (6) "sexual excitement" means the condition of human male or female 02 genitals when in a state of sexual stimulation or arousal. 03 (e) Except as provided in (f) of this section, sale or display for sale of material 04 harmful to minors is a class B misdemeanor. 05 (f) A person convicted under this section is guilty of a class A misdemeanor 06 if the person has previously been convicted of a violation of this section.