An effort to disband the independent oversight boards for the state’s libraries and public television network advanced in an Arkansas legislative committee Thursday.

Senate Bill 184 would abolish the State Library Board and the Arkansas Educational Television Commission, transferring their power and duties to the state Education Department.

The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Jonesboro, told members of the Senate State Agencies and Governmental Affairs committee the bill seeks to boost efficiency.

“These boards and commissions meet once a quarter. They have a set agenda, they meet for about an hour, hour-and-a-half or so, and rarely do they come up with things that are consequential,” Sullivan said, adding the entities the boards oversee are “very consequential to the State of Arkansas.”

Bill to abolish library, Arkansas PBS oversight boards advances

*Antoinette Grajeda/Arkansas Advocate*
Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Jonesboro, leads a meeting of the Arkansas Legislative Council’s Higher Education subcommittee on Sept. 3, 2024 on Arkansas State University’s Jonesboro campus.

by Michael Tilley (mtilley@talkbusiness.net)

Lawyers for Crawford County on Wednesday (Oct. 23) sought an extension to respond to the settlement of a financial award in a lawsuit related to the removal and relocation of books in the county’s library system.

U.S. District Judge P.K. Holmes III ruled Sept. 30 against Crawford County in a First Amendment lawsuit regarding the removal and relocation of books largely because of objections from citizens to LGBTQ content.

In his decision, Holmes states that the “Court finds that even when the evidentiary record is construed in the light most favorable to the Defendants, it is indisputable that the creation and maintenance of the social section was motivated in substantial part by a desire to impede users’ access to books containing viewpoints that are unpopular or controversial in Crawford County.”

Crawford County seeks more time to negotiate judgment amount in library lawsuit