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FW: Press Release on DC eBooks bill passage

  • 1.  FW: Press Release on DC eBooks bill passage

    Posted an hour ago
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    Hi all,

     

    Sorry for any x-posting.  Please see the attached from the redoubtable Kyle Courtney.

     

    This law will not by itself trigger the Connecticut law but it does build towards the 10 state/50 million threshold at which point all laws will be triggered. Of course, Connecticut's law would be triggered before then, at 10 million.

     

    Lots going on in the library ebook space now!

     

    Michael

     

     

    Michael Blackwell

    Director, St Mary's County Library

    23630 Hayden Farm Lane

    Leonardtown, MD 20650

    301-475-2151 x5013

    Cell phone:  301-904-3048

    mblackwell@stmalib.org

     

    SMCL Logo transparent

     

     

     

    Subject: Press Release on DC eBooks bill passage

     

    [CAUTION: EXTERNAL]

    Good afternoon all -

    I wanted to share some major news out of the nation's capital that just crossed the finish line Friday! Mayor Muriel Bowser has officially signed our newest version of the dradft eBooks bill, B26-0490, the Library E-book Pricing Fairness Amendment Act of 2025, into law.

    The eBook Study Group (ESG) drafted this legislation from the ground up, and we were honored to participate directly and testify in the hearings before the D.C. Council's Committee on Human Services.

    We were a bit quieter with this one during the active rollout, but it represents another massive win for our legal strategy. By grounding the framework firmly in state public procurement, contract law, and consumer protection (rather than federal copyright) the District was able to push past an incredibly dense, multi-layered lobbying campaign from OverDrive and major publishing interests.

    This is a huge anchor for the national movement, and the momentum is only building from here. Keep an eye out, ESG has our draft bills in New Jersey, Illinois, Rhode Island, Minnesota, and Massachusetts - and more coming soon!

    I've attached our official press release below with the quick breakdown of the bill's design, the testimony, and the pushback. Let me know if you have any questions or what this means for the upcoming state eBook law pipeline.

    If you like this, please feel free to share across your networks!

    More here: https://ebookstudygroup.substack.com/p/big-news-in-the-capital-dcs-e-book

    Best regards,

    Kyle K. Courtney, Esq.
    eBook Study Group
    www.ebookstudygroup.org 

    Attachment(s)