Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders has 30 days to replace the Arkansas State Library Board. Earlier this year, a law passed dissolving and directing the governor to replace all members of the board. The law went into effect Sunday.
“Folks, this is what accountability is,” Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Jonesboro, said when he presented the bill.
Sullivan has long taken umbrage with the state's libraries. He says inappropriate content is available to children, literacy is de-emphasized and the board should cut ties with the American Library Association.
In 2023, he passed Act 372. This law criminalized librarians for providing materials “harmful to children.” A judge partially struck this law down, saying it was too vague to enforce.
Two years later, Sullivan tried something different. Senate Bill 184 would have eliminated the governing boards for both the state's libraries and Arkansas PBS. Oversight for both organizations would go to the State Board of Education.
Sullivan dropped the PBS idea after meeting with employees from the television station. He said they made promises to him.
But the library board isn't making the changes Sullivan wants. He asked several things of the board — chief among them, he wanted to pass a resolution directing libraries to put certain books in a restricted section. The language was similar to the law the judge struck down.
Meanwhile, more seats were opened on the board as members' terms expired. Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders replaced former board members with a more conservative slate; most notably, former state Sen. Jason Rapert was added to the board almost a year and half ago.
Rapert was a firebrand, speaking about the virtues of passing Sullivan's resolution at every meeting. He wanted to withhold funds from libraries suing the state to block Act 372.
Other board members pushed back, saying his ideas are probably unconstitutional and go outside the limits of what a state board can do. On social media, Rapert said he was being discriminated against as the only male on the board.
The scales started to move in the other direction as Gov. Sanders was given more leeway to replace members.
Rapert insisted on holding a vote at every board meeting. The latest vote was 3-4 against.
Sullivan said this was their last chance. They had squandered their opportunity to make changes before losing their jobs.
Sullivan's bill was supported in the legislature by Republican Rep. Wayne Long. Long said the board is:
“Too big for their britches," adding they are “acting like they're not accountable to anybody.”
Sullivan had large objections to the board. He said they need to cut ties from the American Library Association, a group he described as "Marxist" and “heavily involved in DEI.”
Sullivan also doesn't like that so many libraries have a “library of things,” a public place where locals can check out gardening and fishing equipment.
“Our focus should not be on gardening,” he said, wishing the money be rerouted to literacy programs.
Board member Shari Bales confirmed in a message to Little Rock Public Radio that she has reapplied for the position.
