New Orleans, Louisiana - A federal appeals court on Wednesday upheld a ruling that Texas' book ban likely violates the Constitution.

The three-judge panel from the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously that the Texas law likely violates booksellers' First Amendment right to free speech.

HB 900, or the Restricting Explicit and Adult-Designated Educational Resources (READER) Act, requires vendors to rate all of their books for "sexually explicit material" before selling them to schools. The Texas Education Agency can then alter and post those ratings online.

Advocates say the legislation could effectively ban books with LGBTQ+ representation or themes.

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Booksellers argued in their lawsuit that the requirements amounted to compelled speech and also created an undue economic burden on vendors.

The law was put temporarily on hold by District Judge Alan D. Albright at the end of August.

"The question presented is narrow: Are Plaintiffs likely to succeed on their claims that READER violates their First Amendment rights? Controlling precedent suggests the answer is yes," Trump-appointed US Circuit Judge Don Willett wrote in Wednesday's unanimous opinion.

Texas has already said it plans to appeal the decision.