Status Update: State Age Verification Legislation

The first two months of the 2024 state legislative sessions have been action-packed. So far, 26 states have introduced 46 bills that FSC has been tracking and responding to.

Resource limitations mean we have to triage our response based on priority, which is determined by the population of the state and our calculation of the likelihood of success of our efforts at defeating a bill there.

While you can always check our Age Verification Bill Tracker for the most up-to-date information on any bill, it can be difficult to get a sense of what’s happening on the ground from a simple list. This post walks through the current state of play, recent updates, and what FSC is doing to fight back.

The AV Legislative Landscape

25 states have introduced AV bills this session

Nevada and North Dakota’s legislatures don’t meet in even-numbered years and 8 states passed age verification bills in 2023.

As of today, 63% of the 40 remaining states^§ have introduced an age verification bill.

For some reason, multiple legislators in the same state commonly introduce the same bill (sometimes with identical language). This is why there are more bills than states

The bills are moving quickly

What FSC is Doing

Stopping these bills from passing is FSC’s highest priority. To that end, we’ve contacted over 300 legislators in 15 states, met individually with 4 of them, and testified at 3 hearings so far. Our message is simple: the adult industry does not want minors viewing our websites, but the bills being proposed won’t solve the problem and may even exacerbate it. We believe that device-based solutions are not only more effective, they also respect the constitutional right of adults to access sexual content.

Hearing that message from us – and from their own constituents – has been impactful in many states. We’ve mobilized over 150 supporters and allies to contact their legislators and even testify at 2 hearings. And these efforts are paying off. As described below, several bills have been killed or back-burnered once lawmakers grasped how ineffective and unpopular they are with their voters.

The Good News

No bills have passed and four have been stopped

• In Wyoming, the House denied introduction of HB 78 on Feb 16. No new bills can be introduced this year.
• In New Mexico, HB 295 died at the end of the 2024 legislative session on Feb 15.
• New Hampshire’s Judiciary committee rejected HB 1256 as “inexpedient to legislate” after FSC mobilized allies to testify at a hearing on January 8. 
• Alaska HB 254 was held in committee after a hearing on January 30 where FSC allies testified against the bill. It is unlikely to move forward.

Not every bill is on the fast track

14 of the bills haven’t had any movement in February. This doesn’t mean they won’t, but they are not moving as quickly as the others.

Additionally, 5 bills have had public hearings, but no action has been taken on them as of yet:

• Illinois HB 4247 has appeared on a hearing agenda and been ignored twice
• Public hearing held on Nebraska LB 1092 on 2/21
• Iowa SF 2227 was considered in subcommittee meeting on 2/12
• Public hearing held on 2/6 regarding Missouri HB 1993 & 1426/1855

It’s too late for many states to try

There are 15 states that haven’t introduced age verification legislation. Most have passed the deadline for new bills to be introduced in 2024:

We’ll be keeping an eye on the remaining 7 states until their deadlines expire as well (VT, MN, ME, CT, NY, PA, and NJ).

The Bad News

Some bills are dangerously close to passing

So far, age verification bills have passed one chamber in 9 states.

These bills are moving quickly and several are located in high-priority states. Florida’s HB 1 has been sent to the governor, who said he would make a decision on whether to veto it “very quickly.” In Indiana, SB 17, only needs a full vote in the House and the governor’s signature to pass and go into effect July 1, 2024.

■ not a concern ■ unlikely to pass ■ no bill proposed ■ no recent updates
■ passed one committee ■ passed one chamber ■ very close to passing

Many continue to move forward

Like Congress, state legislatures are divided into two chambers,^Ω usually a House and a Senate. Both chambers must pass a bill before it’s sent to the Governor to be signed into law. Before being voted on by the entire chamber, bills have to be approved by a committee.

In just the last few weeks, bills in 6 states have passed out of committee in the chamber where they originated. The next step for these bills is to pass a full vote on the floor of the House or Senate, then move over to the other chamber for consideration.

Conclusion

Tracking all of these bills, communicating with lawmakers, mobilizing allies and supporters, showing up at public hearings, and proposing effective alternatives is time-consuming and difficult, but it’s working in places where legislators are willing to listen.

If you haven’t already, please sign up to receive action alerts for bills in your own state. Want to get even more involved? Sign up to volunteer with us! We can make a difference and we need your help.

^§ A Mississippi Representative introduced a new AV bill on 2/19, despite having passed an age verification law last year. It’s not clear why.
^Ω Except Nebraska. They only have one.