North Dakota Republican Governor Kelly Armstrong vetoed a bill this week that would have required school districts to keep books determined to be “sexually explicit” out of the reach of students, saying that the bill was a “misguided” attempt to “legislate morality.”

Armstrong on Tuesday vetoed Senate Bill 2307, which would have prohibited school districts from maintaining “explicit sexual material” in classrooms and libraries and would allow concerned parents and others to initiate a review of materials they believe may be in violation of the law. In his veto message, Armstrong said that enforcing the bill would be “unworkable” and infringed on free speech.

“While I recognize the concerns that led to its introduction, SB 2307 represents a misguided attempt to legislate morality through overreach and censorship. The bill imposes vague and punitive burdens on professionals and opens the door to a host of unintended and damaging consequences for our communities,” he wrote.

The legislation would have expanded on a law passed in 2023 that barred public libraries from keeping sexually explicit books in their children’s section. That law also requires public libraries to have a policy in place to keep explicit books out of the children’s section.

SB 2307 would have expanded those guidelines to school districts, requiring districts to ensure that students were not exposed to sexually explicit material through physical books or online resources offered to them. Districts would also have been mandated to put policies in place to ensure compliance.

The proposal would have created a way for “interested parties” to challenge decisions made by schools, and given them an opportunity to appeal to an oversight board and the local state’s attorney. Local prosecutors would also have been given the power to prosecute for violations of the law.

The governor’s office told The Daily Wire it had no further comment on the legislation other than the veto message.

In that message, Armstrong called the legislation “redundant” and “overly burdensome,” saying that it could lead to “the next literary masterpiece” being kept out of North Dakota libraries. He also believed it would open up a floodgate of complaints for innocuous books that would bog down library and school officials.

“In today’s world of social media, streaming services, websites, cable TV and movies where profanity, drug use, violence and nudity are harder to avoid than to find, the amount of time, money and taxpayer resources spent on where a book is placed in a library would be better used elsewhere,” he wrote in his message.

The legislation had passed the Republican-dominated state Senate 27-20 and the House 49-45.

“We are harming our children, that’s all there is to it,” said state Senator Keith Boehm during a hearing on the proposal. “The bill is all about protecting kids from this material. It has nothing against adults.”

The issue of sexually explicit books has been a major concern across the country as parents have rallied to protect their kids from graphic material at both public and school libraries.

Armstrong also vetoed another Republican-backed piece of legislation this week. On Wednesday, he vetoed a school choice proposal that would have created Education Savings Accounts for private school students. The governor said that the bill failed to “deliver the school choice North Dakota needs, especially in rural areas where nonpublic school options are few and far between.” He asked lawmakers to send him a bill that would provide education vouchers to a broader swath of students.

Red states throughout the country are considering employment verification legislation that experts say could be one of the most effective ways to encourage illegal alien self-deportations.

The states are considering bills that would mandate that employers use E-Verify, a system run by the Department of Homeland Security that ensures workers are in the country legally and eligible for employment.

Ira Mehlman, the media director for the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), previously told The Daily Wire that E-Verify mandates eliminate the “biggest incentive” for illegal aliens to enter or stay in the United States.

“If employers were mandated to use E-Verify and the government demonstrated the resolve to hold employers accountable, that would go a long way toward drying up the supply of jobs for illegal aliens, thereby eliminating the biggest incentive to come or remain here illegally,” Mehlman explained.

A recent estimate from FAIR found that there are 18.6 million illegal aliens currently present in the United States, with experts like Mehlman and Center for Immigration Studies Executive Director Mark Krikorian saying that self-deportations are key to reducing America’s illegal alien population.

.@SpencerLndqst on the latest logistical issue the Trump administration is facing:

“There are 18.6 million illegal aliens present in the US currently. If they had their own state, not only would it always go to the Democrats, it would also be the fifth largest in the country.” pic.twitter.com/qyvTkyOO4P

— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) April 23, 2025

Now, states across the country are considering legislation to implement or expand E-Verify mandates. Idaho’s House of Representatives is considering an E-Verify proposal that would require all businesses in the state to verify the employment status of new employees. Republican Representative Jordan Redman, the sponsor of the legislation, says that the bill “adds to Idaho employment law to prohibit employment of illegal aliens and require employers to use E-Verify for each new hire to verify legal employment status as a condition of their employment.”

The effort has faced opposition from Rep. Stephanie Mickelsen, a Republican from Idaho Falls and a potato farmer, as well as from the Idaho Dairyman’s Association, which cited labor shortage concerns.

Montana is currently considering legislation that would require employers to use E-Verify or the I-9 employment verification form and maintain eligibility documentation for workers. Companies that fail to abide by the law could face civil penalties, including fines and even the revocation of business licenses after multiple violations. The bill was sent to the governor after passing through the state House and Senate.

“By leveraging verification systems already in place, we can promote lawful employment practices while protecting the integrity of our labor market,” said Rep. Courtenay Sprunger, the House bill’s sponsor.

The Florida State House just passed legislation that would expand the state’s current E-Verify laws and require all businesses to use the system. But even though the bill was passed with unanimous support from Republicans and garnered support from seven Democrats, the corresponding effort hasn’t gained any traction in the Senate and has not been assigned to a committee.

Texas is also considering legislation to expand its existing E-Verify mandate, which currently only applies to government workers. The new legislation would require all employers in the state to use E-Verify, which Sen. Lois Kolkhurst called “the most functional and cost-effective method the state of Texas can implement to stem the flow of illegal immigration.”

The America First Policy Institute (AFPI) has endorsed the Texas bill, asserting that it could help unemployed Americans in the Lone Star state get back into the workforce while disincentivizing illegal immigration. “The largest pull factor for illegal aliens is the ability to make money in the U.S.,” AFPI explained. “Mandatory use of E-Verify would significantly reduce the ability of illegal aliens to work, and over time, this action will help reduce the pull factor of employment for those who enter the country unlawfully.”