Advocates push Fresno County to dissolve its defunct parent library book committee

A coalition of advocacy groups sent a letter to Fresno County, calling on elected supervisors to rescind the 2023 resolution that created a parent-run library book committee. 

The letter says the county’s exposure to litigation is “imminent,” especially after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the Freedom to Read Act last year — a state law that bars local governments from banning library books that include diverse perspectives or sexual education content unless that content qualifies as obscene. 

“Even former Supervisor Steve Brandau, who introduced and spearheaded the Resolution, has effectively conceded that the Resolution cannot stand under the Freedom to Read Act,” according to the letter. “After the legislation was enacted, Brandau told media that the state had ‘taken the decision out of our hands.’”

Back in 2023, Fresno County supervisors approved a resolution to create a committee that would dictate which books could be within the reach of children inside county libraries. The decision was highly contentious and sparked local protests. 

However, the state law nullifies the supervisors’ 2023 resolution, according to the law’s author, Al Muratsuchi. Last October, he told Fresnoland that trained librarians are supposed to decide which books children have access to. 

The letter, sent by the First Amendment Coalition, the ACLU of Northern California, the Freedom to Read Foundation and PEN America, gave Fresno County a deadline of April 22 to comply with the demand to rescind the 2023 resolution. 

Fresno County Spokesperson Sonja Dosti told Fresnoland via email that since appointments to the library book committee were never made, the committee does not exist. 

Every year, county officials review inactive committees and commissions to draw up a list for the Board of Supervisors to dissolve. 

Dosti said that process could be a few months away.