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2006 SESSION
060168782
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That § 42.1-36.1 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 42.1-36.1. Power and duty of library boards and certain governing bodies regarding acceptable Internet use policies.
A. On or before December 1, 1999, and biennially thereafter,
(i) every library board established pursuant to § 42.1-35 or (ii) the governing
body of any county, city, or town which that, pursuant to §
42.1-36, has not established a library board pursuant to § 42.1-35, shall file
with the Librarian of Virginia an acceptable use policy for the
international network of computer systems commonly known as the Internet.
At a minimum, the policy shall contain provisions which that (i)
are designed to prohibit use by library employees and patrons of the library's
computer equipment and communications services for sending, receiving, viewing,
or downloading illegal material via the Internet, (ii) seek to prevent access
by library patrons under the age of eighteen 18 to material
which that is harmful to juveniles, and (iii) establish appropriate
measures to be taken against persons who violate the policy. For libraries
established pursuant to § 42.1-33 that receive state funding for any purpose,
the policy shall also contain provisions on selecting and installing on those
computers that are accessible to the public and have Internet access a
technology protection measure to filter or block Internet access through such
computers to child pornography as defined in § 18.2-374.1:1, obscenity as
defined in §18.2-372, and, with respect to minors, materials deemed harmful to
juveniles as defined in § 18.2-390. Such policy shall provide that a
person authorized by the library board shall disable the technology protection
measure required by this section at the request of a patron to enable access
for bona fide research or other lawful purposes.
The library board or the governing body may include such other terms, conditions, and requirements in the library's policy as it deems appropriate, such as requiring written parental authorization for Internet use by juveniles or differentiating acceptable uses between elementary, middle, and high school students.
B. The library board or the governing body shall take such
steps as it deems appropriate to implement and enforce the library's policy
which may include, but are not limited to, (i) the use of software programs
designed to block access by (a) library employees and patrons to illegal
material or (b) library patrons under the age of eighteen 18 to
material which that is harmful to juveniles or (c) both; (ii)
charging library employees to casually monitor patrons' Internet use; or (iii)
installing privacy screens on computers which that access the
Internet. For libraries established pursuant to § 42.1-33 that receive state
funding for any purpose, the library board or governing body shall select and
install on those computers that are accessible to the public and have Internet
access a technology protection measure as required by the policy established
pursuant to subsection A.
C. On or before December 1, 2000, and biennially thereafter, the Librarian of Virginia shall submit a report to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Education, the House Committee on Science and Technology, and the Senate Committee on Education and Health which summarizes the acceptable use policies filed with the Librarian pursuant to this section and the status thereof.
2. That the provisions of this act shall not become effective unless an appropriation of general funds effectuating the purposes of this act is included in the general appropriation act passed by the 2006 Session of the General Assembly, which becomes law.