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H638 • 2025

An Act to protect library patron privacy

An Act to protect library patron privacy

Education Privacy
Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor
Jay D. Livingstone
Last action
2025-10-23
Official status
Referred to House Committee on Bills in the Third Reading
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

An Act to protect library patron privacy

An Act to protect library patron privacy By Representative Livingstone of Boston, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No.

What This Bill Does

  • An Act to protect library patron privacy By Representative Livingstone of Boston, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No.
  • 638) of Jay D.
  • Livingstone, Lindsay N.
  • Sabadosa and Adrianne Pusateri Ramos for legislation relative to the privacy of library records.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2025-10-23 House

    Committee reported that the matter be placed in the Orders of the Day for the next sitting

  2. 2025-10-23 House

    Rules suspended

  3. 2025-10-23 House

    Read second and ordered to a third reading

  4. 2025-09-25 House

    Bill reported favorably by committee and referred to the committee on House Steering, Policy and Scheduling

  5. 2025-06-06 Joint

    Hearing scheduled for 06/17/2025 from 01:00 PM-05:00 PM in B-2

  6. 2025-02-27 House

    Referred to the committee on Education

  7. 2025-02-27 Senate

    Senate concurred

Official Summary Text

An Act to protect library patron privacy
By Representative Livingstone of Boston, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 638) of Jay D. Livingstone, Lindsay N. Sabadosa and Adrianne Pusateri Ramos for legislation relative to the privacy of library records. Education.
Status:
Referred to House Committee on Bills in the Third Reading

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
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Bill H.638

SECTION 1. Section 7 of chapter 78 of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking the third sentence.

SECTION 2. Said chapter 78 is hereby amended by inserting after section 7 the following section:-

Section 7A.

That part of the records of a public library which reveals the identity and intellectual pursuits of a person using such library shall not be a public record as defined by clause Twenty-sixth of section seven of chapter four. Access to such part of such library records shall be granted only with a warrant issued pursuant to chapter 276 or under exigent circumstances.

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