S-4097               _______________________________________________

                                                   SENATE BILL NO. 6670

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                               51st Legislature                              1990 Regular Session

By Senators Talmadge, Craswell, Smith, Warnke, Wojahn and Anderson

Read first time 1/22/90 and referred to Committee on  Law & Justice.

AN ACT Relating to public display and distribution to minors of material harmful to minors; adding new sections to chapter 9.91 RCW; and prescribing penalties.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.     As used in sections 1 through 4 of this act, the following terms have the meanings indicated unless the context clearly requires otherwise:

          (1) "Minor" means any person under the age of eighteen years.

          (2) "Harmful to minors" means any matter:

          (a) Which the average adult person, applying contemporary community standards, would find, when considered as a whole, has a tendency to appeal to a morbid interest in violence in minors;

          (b) Which explicitly depicts or describes, by prevailing standards in the adult community with respect to what is suitable for minors, patently offensive, graphic representations or descriptions of violent or destructive acts, including but not limited to human or animal mutilation, dismemberment, rape, or torture; and

          (c) Which, when considered as a whole, and in the context in which it is used, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors.

          (3) "Matter" means motion picture films, video cassettes, or other video reproduction devices or the jackets, cases, or coverings of such video reproduction devices.

          (4) "Motion picture film" means any:

          (a) Film or plate negative;

          (b) Film or plate positive;

          (c) Film designed to be projected on a screen for exhibition;

          (d) Film, glass slides, or transparencies, either in negative or positive form, designed for exhibition by projection on a screen;

          (e) Video tape or any other medium used to electronically reproduce images on a screen.

          (5) "Person" means any individual, partnership, firm, association, corporation, or other legal entity.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.     No person shall knowingly sell, display, furnish, present, distribute, allow to view or hear, or otherwise disseminate to a minor, with or without consideration, any matter which is harmful to minors, without the express permission of the minor's parents or guardian.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.     Any person who is convicted of violating any provision of section 2 of this act is guilty of a misdemeanor under RCW 9A.20.021(3).  Each day that any violation of section 2 of this act occurs or continues shall constitute a separate offense and shall be punishable as a separate violation.  Every act, thing, or transaction prohibited by section 2 of this act shall constitute a separate offense as to each item, issue, or title involved and shall be punishable as such.  For the purpose of this section, multiple copies of the same identical title, volume, and number issue, or other such identical material shall constitute a single offense.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4.     Nothing in this chapter applies to any recognized historical society or museum, the state law library, any county law library, the state library, any public library, any library of any college or university or public or private school, or any archive or library under the supervision and control of the state, county, municipality, any library district, or other political subdivision.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5.     If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6.     Sections 1 through 4 of this act are each added to chapter 9.91 RCW.