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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- The Utah Senate on Wednesday passed a law to yank state funding from public libraries that don't install pornography filters on computers that the public can access to browse the Internet or use for other online services.
The Children's Internet Protection Act amends a 4-year-old law that requires libraries to set online policies to include enforcement language, said Sen. Tom Hatch, R-Panguitch.
The bill's fiscal note says that while there won't be any cost to individuals or businesses, the cost to libraries could be high, said Sen. Karen Hale, D-Salt Lake City.
She said installing the filters in the Salt Lake City library system alone would cost $200,000, but the Legislature isn't appropriating any funds for the filters. Rather, it is threatening funding penalties if the libraries don't comply.
Hale tried on Tuesday to amend the bill to delay its implementation to Nov. 30 instead of July 1 to give libraries time to get the filters assessed and installed.
In June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the federal government can withhold money from libraries that won't install software to block online porn.
At the time, several Utah library officials said they didn't expect to change practices because of the ruling. Some already have blocking software, and the largest districts don't rely on federal funds.
Salt Lake County libraries, the state's largest system with 18 branches, have already installed blocking software, but can unblock sites at the request of adult patrons.
Some libraries resist the filters on their public computers because the software will, for example, block searches for terms such as "breast cancer."
(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
