Latest news with #ArkansasStateLibrary
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Arkansas Library Board has final meeting before law disbanding it goes into effect
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The current Arkansas Library Board held its last meeting before Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders is expected to appoint all new members to the team due to a new law. Gathered for the last time, the board met to discuss funding and recommendations to leave for the new board to take up. Bill filed in Arkansas legislature to require locking away children's library material on sexuality Act 903, passed during the recent legislative session, removes all seven current board members and allows the governor to replace them. Legislators in support of the bill testified during the session that the current board is not run correctly, citing concerns about young people's access to certain library materials. Rep. Howard Beaty (R-Crossett) is a sponsor of the bill that became law. 'This board is not functioning in a manner that we find acceptable,' Beaty said in introducing the legislation. Bill filed in legislature would abolish the Arkansas State Library, put controls on public libraries Misty Hawkins is the regional director of the Arkansas River Valley Regional Library system. During the meeting, she thanked the board and said the library shouldn't be partisan. 'We do not want to be affiliated with either party, but we need to work with both,' Hawkins said. If Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders acts in accordance with the new law, which will go into effect Aug. 3, the next library board meeting will have new members. Hawkins said she hopes the new board will reach across party lines. Although it's bittersweet to have this board leave, she's optimistic. 'I do think that bi-partisan, nonpartisan, that is something we need to focus on, we have business to do, let's do it,' Hawkins said. President Trump fires Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden The board's next meeting will be Aug. 8. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Axios
04-04-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Capitol roundup: Social media, prison funding fights
Arkansas state lawmakers were back at it this week after taking time off for Spring Break. State of play: Days after a federal judge permanently blocked a 2023 law requiring social media platforms to verify new users' ages and obtain parental consent for minors, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced a pair of related bills. SB611 seeks amendments to the law, including an updated definition of social media platforms as a messaging service or online platforms that require an internet connection. It would also apply to minors under 16, instead of 18. SB612 would prohibit social media platforms from using algorithms that cause a user to purchase a controlled substance, develop an eating disorder, attempt suicide or develop an addiction to the social media platform. The law would also allow parents to sue the platform if their child dies of suicide if it was facilitated by content on social media. Zoom out: The state Senate this week also twice rejected a $750 million appropriation bill to support construction of a proposed and contentious 3,000-bed prison in Franklin County. The Senate further voted to eliminate the Arkansas State Library, which is under the Arkansas Department of Education's umbrella but operates independently, the Arkansas Advocate reported. SB536, now headed to the House, would transfer the authorities, funds, contracts and employees of the agency and its board to the state education department. Take a look at more bills filed in the past week we're watching: 🐈⬛ HB1893 would allow private property or business owners to ban emotional support animals. 📚 SB572 and HB1919 would make learning materials like lesson plans and syllabi at public schools public record. ⛈ SB578 would allow early voting locations to close during inclement weather. 🍷 SB588 would create a private winery club permit. 🍭 HB1962 would prohibit schools from serving or selling ultra-processed food. 🥦 HB1965 would create the Arkansas Healthy Food Retail Act of 2025, tasking the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, in cooperation with public and private sector partners, to establish a program that provides funding to retailers that increase access to fresh fruits and vegetables and other affordable healthy food in underserved communities. 👨👩👦 HB1921 would limit the training hours required for a new foster home to 15 and six hours of annual training for existing foster homes to maintain their status.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Arkansas Senate narrowly OKs dissolution of State Library; bill heads to House
Sen. Terry Rice (left), R-Waldron, asks a question during debate over Senate Bill 536 in the Senate chamber on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (Tess Vrbin/Arkansas Advocate) The Arkansas Senate narrowly endorsed the elimination of the Arkansas State Library on Wednesday, but the bill did not receive enough support to go into effect July 1 if it becomes law. Senate Bill 536 would transfer the authorities, funds, contracts and employees of the agency and its board to the Arkansas Department of Education. The State Library is already under the department's umbrella but operates independently, and its board disburses state funds to public libraries on a quarterly basis. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Jonesboro, is the bill's sponsor and has repeatedly promised to dissolve the State Library Board. Sullivan broadened his intention to dissolve the entire State Library last month after he said the board did not satisfy the conditions he gave them for its survival. Most laws go into effect 90 days after the end of a legislative session, around Aug. 1, but SB 536 had an emergency clause that would have allowed it to go into effect July 1. This provision was one of many aspects of the bill that library directors opposed Tuesday before it passed the Senate Committee on State Agencies and Governmental Affairs. Misty Hawkins, regional director of the Arkansas River Valley Regional Library System, said it would be impossible to rework the interlocal agreements in the four counties she serves within three months to account for the language of SB 536. Several library systems in Arkansas encompass multiple counties. Emergency clauses need the support of two-thirds of lawmakers, which is 24 votes in the Senate. SB 536 instead received 18 votes, the minimum for a simple majority. Republican Sens. Breanne Davis of Russellville and Bryan King of Green Forest joined five of the six Senate Democrats in voting against the bill. Sen. Stephanie Flowers, D-Pine Bluff, and Sen. Kim Hammer, R-Benton, were absent. Three Republicans voted present and five did not vote. The Senate subsequently approved a clincher motion from Sullivan with a voice vote. A clincher prevents a bill from receiving another vote in the applicable chamber, so the House will consider SB 536 without its emergency clause. Bill to abolish Arkansas State Library and its board advances despite librarians' opposition Hawkins and three other library directors said Tuesday that SB 536 might cost them the state funding they need to operate their libraries. The bill's criteria for receiving state funds include 'prohibit[ing] access to age-inappropriate materials to a person who is sixteen (16) years old or younger.' One-room libraries do not have segregated spaces to ensure that children under 16 cannot access specific material, and SB 536 says the Department of Education 'may' disburse funds to libraries that meet the proposed criteria but does not mandate it, the library directors said. Sen. Clarke Tucker, D-Little Rock, repeated these concerns on the Senate floor Wednesday. SB 536 defines 'age-inappropriate material' as 'books, media, or any other material accessible at a public library containing images or explicit and detailed descriptions' of sexual acts, sexual contact and human genitalia. The State Library Board approved a motion at a special meeting March 13 to create 'non-binding policies to protect children' while honoring First Amendment freedoms and libraries' material selection policies. Sullivan had asked the board to pass a motion to protect children in libraries and to detach from the American Library Association; the board rejected two separate motions to these ends. Sen. Terry Rice, R-Waldron, said he also asked State Library Board members to ensure that libraries keep inappropriate content away from children. 'It's time for drastic things to happen if this incompetent bunch is going to continue to put our children at risk,' Rice said. 'There's going to be fallout, but we'll fix the fallout.' Tucker said the Legislature has the authority to reconstitute the State Library Board instead of dissolving it and its parent agency if lawmakers are dissatisfied with its actions or inactions. Library directors and State Library Board members have repeatedly said, including at Tuesday's committee meeting, that libraries already organize books on shelves in an age-appropriate manner in accordance with existing standards. The location and availability of books based on 'appropriateness' for minors was the thrust of Act 372 of 2023, also sponsored by Sullivan. The law would have given local elected officials the final say over whether to relocate challenged library materials some consider 'obscene' and made librarians legally liable for disseminating such materials. A federal judge temporarily and later permanently blocked portions of Act 372; Attorney General Tim Griffin appealed the ruling in January. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bill to abolish Arkansas State Library and its board advances despite librarians' opposition
Five Arkansans spoke against Senate Bill 536 before the Senate Committee on State Agencies and Governmental Affairs on Tuesday, April 1, 2025. From left: Misty Hawkins, regional director of the Arkansas River Valley Regional Library System; Allie Gosselink, director of the Calhoun County Library; Debbie Hall, grants manager for the Arkansas State Library; John McGraw,executive director of the Faulkner-Van Buren Regional Library; and Clare Graham, Mid-Arkansas Regional Library System director. (Tess Vrbin/Arkansas Advocate) After more than two hours of debate, an Arkansas Senate committee advanced a proposal on Tuesday to abolish the Arkansas State Library and its board, which disburses state funding to local public libraries. Senate Bill 536 would transfer the agency's and board's powers, authorities, funds, contracts and employees to the Arkansas Department of Education. The State Library is already under the department's umbrella but operates independently. The bill would delete all mentions of the State Library from existing state statute and make 'prohibit[ing] access to age-inappropriate materials to a person who is sixteen (16) years old or younger' a condition for public libraries to receive state funds from the education department. 'My entire library, all 30,000 books, would fit inside this room,' Calhoun County Library Director Allie Gosselink said, speaking against SB 536 before the Senate Committee on State Agencies and Governmental Affairs in the Arkansas Capitol's Old Supreme Court room. 'I need a definition for 'access,' or I can't let anyone that's under 16… inside my door,' Gosselink continued. SB 536 defines 'age-inappropriate material' as 'books, media, or any other material accessible at a public library containing images or explicit and detailed descriptions' of sexual acts, sexual contact and human genitalia. The location and availability of books based on 'appropriateness' for minors was the thrust of Act 372 of 2023. The law would have given local elected officials the final say over whether to relocate challenged library materials some consider 'obscene' and made librarians legally liable for disseminating such materials. A federal judge temporarily and later permanently blocked portions of Act 372; Attorney General Tim Griffin appealed the ruling in January. New bill would dissolve Arkansas State Library and its board, set new library funding criteria Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Jonesboro, sponsored Act 372 and is the primary sponsor of SB 536. Protecting minors from 'age-inappropriate material' in libraries and detaching from the American Library Association were the two requests Sullivan said he gave the State Library Board last month as conditions of its survival. The board voted against two proposals with those stated goals from Republican ex-senator Jason Rapert, who has called for the board's abolition. Sullivan subsequently doubled down on his existing promise to dissolve the board. He introduced a bill in February to abolish both the State Library Board and the Arkansas Educational Television Commission, which oversees Arkansas PBS, but he said he reached an agreement with the latter in March that led him to decide not to dissolve the commission. On Tuesday, Sullivan told the State Agencies committee that his requests to the State Library Board should not have been difficult to fulfill and that SB 536 would ensure the state's 'oversight' of entities that receive public funds. 'When people say 'Book Ban Dan' is taking away their library or killing their library, they chose that path,' Sullivan said. SB 536 would require libraries to submit annual reports to the Department of Education that include 'an assurance of compliance with the applicable laws of the state, rules promulgated by the department, and the policies of the public library.' For example, Sullivan said, libraries should not espouse diversity, equity and inclusion policies or allow transgender people to use bathrooms that do not match their gender assigned at birth. Sullivan has sponsored or supported laws to these ends this year and in 2023. Four library directors, including Gosselink, and Arkansas State Library grants manager Debbie Hall spoke against SB 536. No members of the public spoke for the bill. If the education department determines a library no longer qualifies for state funding, the library would be allowed to appeal the decision as long as it can prove 'the determination was made in error' or 'the determination was correct but remedial actions have been taken by the public library to bring the public library into compliance,' according to SB 536. The appeal process would not be sufficient if the law goes into effect July 1 in accordance with its emergency clause, said Misty Hawkins, regional director of the Arkansas River Valley Regional Library System, which has seven branches in Franklin, Johnson, Logan and Yell counties. The library system would have to rewrite its interlocal agreements between the four counties to account for the new code and repealed code in SB 536, which is not possible to complete in only three months, Hawkins said. 'As a director, I am now doing more [to] ensure my libraries are in compliance in order to get the same amount of funding,' which is $188,000 from the state, Hawkins said. She also said SB 536 does not specify how librarians must determine whether a book is appropriate for a 16-year-old but not for a 15-year-old. All five people who spoke against the bill said libraries already organize books on shelves in an age-appropriate manner in accordance with existing standards, and State Library Board members have made similar statements. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX After rejecting the two proposals put forth by Sullivan and Rapert last month, the State Library Board passed a motion to create 'non-binding policies to protect children' while honoring First Amendment freedoms and libraries' material selection policies. Sullivan said this was not enough to deter him from dissolving the board, partly because the majority of members still opposed removing references to the American Library Association from board documents. On Tuesday, Sullivan repeated his criticism of a former ALA president for publicly calling herself a Marxist and the ALA's Library Bill of Rights for stating that access to libraries should not be restricted based on a person's age. The ALA presidency is 'a ceremonial job' that does not directly influence the policies of the nonprofit trade association that advocates for libraries and helps them secure grant funding, said John McGraw, executive director of the Faulkner-Van Buren Regional Library. Sen. Alan Clark, R-Lonsdale, said the ALA's Library Bill of Rights rubs him the wrong way because it asserts 'you can't protect a 3-year-old' from inappropriate content. Gosselink called Clark's statement 'semantics.' 'Not a single person sitting behind me will tell you that you do not need to protect a 3-year-old from certain things that are in our libraries,' she said. 'That is the parents' job. We can't make a whole library acceptable for a 3-year-old.' Local libraries are already governed by their local boards that know their communities best. This bill takes that away, replacing it with centralized oversight that doesn't understand the unique needs of each town and city. – Clare Graham, Mid-Arkansas Regional Library System director McGraw said, not for the first time, that his library system doesn't have a mechanism to lock away books that might be appropriate for adults but inappropriate for small children. A bill advanced later on Tuesday that would require Arkansas public school libraries serving K-5 students to segregate 'non-age-appropriate sexual content' in 'a locked compartment within a designated area.' House Bill 1646 passed the House with 75 votes for it and 14 against it, mostly along party lines, and will next go to the Senate Education Committee. SB 536 includes a limited exception to the proposed restrictions on 'age-inappropriate materials.' Sex education materials would be accessible to minors between 12 and 15 years old, and those under 12 would not be able to access such materials if their parents or guardians have forbidden their access in writing. Six of the eight Senate State Agencies committee members, including Sullivan, voted to pass SB 536. Sen. Bryan King, R-Green Forest, voted against it. The committee's sole Democrat, Sen. Clarke Tucker of Little Rock, was absent during the vote. SB 536 would also require libraries to maintain a specific minimum hours of operation depending on the populations of the areas they serve. For example, a library in a community of less than 10,000 people would have to be open 1,480 hours per year in order to receive state funding, and a library that serves 10,000 to 19,000 people would have to be open 1,730 hours per year. The library directors who spoke against the bill said this would disproportionately threaten rural libraries' funding. McGraw called the provision an 'unfunded mandate' and said it would apply unevenly to the branches he supervises in Conway and in rural areas. CONTACT US Gosselink said the payroll and utility costs to meet the hours requirement at the Calhoun County Library's main branch in Hampton would cost more than the state funding she currently receives, which is $7,100 per year. 'It's my entire discretionary budget for programming, for books, for computers, for anything I might do that's above and beyond opening the doors and turning on the lights,' she said. Sullivan said county governments and taxpayers would be required to put in extra effort to make up for any library funding that might be lost, but he also said he doubted that libraries are at risk of losing funding in the first place. McGraw challenged this statement and mentioned that the entire staff of the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services was put on administrative leave for 90 days Monday. Earlier in March, President Donald Trump issued an executive order to gut the federal agency that provides grant funding to libraries nationwide. The Arkansas State Library distributes IMLS funds to Arkansas libraries. These funds support summer reading programs, interlibrary loan programs, resources for blind and print-disabled library patrons and state document depositories, Arkansas Library Association president and Garland County Library director Adam Webb told the Advocate. McGraw called SB 536 'an unnecessary introduction of chaos' into the already uncertain landscape of library funding, and he said the bill does not include any metrics for measuring improvements within libraries that meet all of the bill's state funding requirements. The fourth library director to speak against the bill was Clare Graham, who oversees the five-county Mid-Arkansas Regional Library System. 'This bill imposes a one-size-fits-all approach that stifles creativity and flexibility,' Graham said. 'Local libraries are already governed by their local boards that know their communities best. This bill takes that away, replacing it with centralized oversight that doesn't understand the unique needs of each town and city.' The full Senate will consider SB 536 Wednesday. The bill's emergency clause requires two-thirds of the chamber's support, or 24 votes. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Legislation to remove Arkansas Library Board passes in committee hearing
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – A bill to abolish the Arkansas Library Board is one step closer to passage after a Tuesday vote. Senate Bill 536 received a do-pass recommendation in the Senate State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee. If the bill becomes law, it would turn over the duties and properties of the Arkansas State Library to the state's Department of Education. Bill filed in legislature would abolish the Arkansas State Library, put controls on public libraries The bill's primary sponsor and Senate state agencies committee member, Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Jonesboro), has been an outspoken critic of library policies on minors' access to certain materials. He had filed a law that would abolish the Arkansas Educational Television Network Board alongside the library board, but said in an earlier committee hearing that he had not advanced the bill after reaching an agreement with AETN. With its committee passage, the bill will return to the Senate floor for a final vote. If it passes that vote, it will move to the House floor for a vote, then to the appropriate House committee for review, and if it receives a do-pass, return to the floor for a final vote. It will move to the governor's desk for signature into law if it clears these hurdles. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
